Man airlifted after horse accident

Glen Innes’ new doctor had a swift introduction to emergency in Glen Innes when three local doctors saved a man’s life last Thursday.
At approximately 2pm last Thursday afternoon a 44-year-old Deepwater man was kicked in the chest by a horse on his property.

The man was rushed to Glen Innes and District Hospital where Dr Peter Annetts assessed his condition and promptly called the Westpac rescue helicopter.
The man was rushed into surgery, Dr EK Wong assisted by Glen Innes’ new doctor Dr Edward Or and Dr Ross Haron, who provided the anaesthetic care, worked to stop the massive internal bleeding and stabilise the patient before he could be transported to Tamworth Base Hospital.
Director of Tamworth Hospital Emergency Retrieval Team Dr John Kennedy said that the man was very lucky to be alive.
“The Glen Innes team swung into action and worked exceptionally well together, with the absolute standout being Dr EK Wong - a brilliant job,” he said.
Glen Innes Health Service manager Cathryn Jones praised the medical staff for their immediate reaction.
“The response from our nursing staff and VMOs (Visiting Medical Officers) was brilliant. We are extremely fortunate to have such a highly skilled team in Glen Innes, and have the back up of the retrieval team,” she said.
Dr Chris Trethewey from the retrieval team worked with the local surgeons to further stabilise the patient before he was flown to Tamworth Base Hospital at around 8pm.
The man was yesterday listed as being in a stable condition. Hunter New England Health declined to disclose the extent of his injuries except that he had a significant amount of internal injuries and suffered a lot of blood loss.

NAOMI DAVIDSON

11/03/2008 3:14:00 PM

Equine flu over: WA lifts restrictions on horse movements

Requirements to bring horses into Western Australia have returned to normal.
Last week Australia was declared provisionally free of Equine Influenza.
Bradley McCormick from the Department of Agriculture and Food says requirements to bring horses into Australia are now the same as those prior to the Equine Influenza outbreak in August last year.

But Mr McCormick says horses being imported into WA will still need to meet a range of health conditions and be accompanied by an interstate health certificate.
"In terms of Western Australia we've been lucky that we haven't had the disease here but we've also worked hard to ensure on a risk management approach that we maintained a very low risk of importing the disease," he said.

Horses Killed in Interstate Mishap - Pennsylvania

Three horses were struck and killed this morning on Interstate 81 in Susquehanna County.

A tractor-trailer driver got quite a surprise in Susquehanna County when he saw four horses and donkey right in front of him on the highway. Police said he hit and killed three of the horses.
Emergency workers rounded up the surviving horse and donkey around 2:30 a.m.
Troopers said the animals are owned by Dawn Frisbie of Hop Bottom but were kept at a farm not far from the interstate. Somehow they got away and got onto the interstate.
All lanes of I-81 were closed for an hour and a half.
The driver of the tractor-trailer wasn't hurt but the three horses he hit didn't make it. An animal rescue team took them off the roadway later in the morning.
No one answered knocks at Dawn Frisbie's door.

Australian Olympians 'won't be gagged'

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) says its athletes will not be stopped from speaking about human rights issues at this year's Beijing Games.

Some athletes have expressed concern about being asked to sign an agreement which asks in part that they only comment to the media about their own events, prospects and performances.

It comes as the monk-led uprising in Tibet focuses attention on China's record ahead of the Games in August.
Committee media director Mike Tancred says the intention is to stop Australian competitors from criticising their team-mates or opponents.
He says the clause is not designed to prevent athletes from commenting on the situation in Tibet and other political matters.
"Our athletes in Beijing will be entitled to speak on any issue, including human rights," he said.
"They will not be gagged.
"The only way that an athlete on our team would be sent home from Beijing is if they were to commit a serious doping offence, or a criminal offence."