Close Menu
  • Bayside News Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Read Our Newspapers Online
    • Read the Latest Western Port News
    • Read the Latest Mornington News
    • Read the Latest Southern Peninsula News
    • Read the Latest Frankston Times
    • Read the Latest Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Friday, July 4
Facebook X (Twitter)
Bayside News
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Police investigate Bonbeach collision
Breaking News
Bayside News
Home»News»Drama an exercise, but lessons real
News

Drama an exercise, but lessons real

Stephen TaylorBy Stephen Taylor17 October 2016Updated:24 October 2016No Comments3 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
Setting the scene: Paramedic student Charlotte Patton grapples with her “deranged ex-partner”, above, and Students Vincent Langen, Bec Algefski and Melissa Membrey, below, treat the “wounded” Charlotte Patton.
Setting the scene: Paramedic student Charlotte Patton grapples with her “deranged ex-partner”, above, and Students Vincent Langen, Bec Algefski and Melissa Membrey, below, treat the “wounded” Charlotte Patton.

emergency-exercise3-ftA BURNING car on the roof of a shopping centre, a deranged man holding a knife and two innocent people stabbed.

That was the contrived scenario facing 75 first responders during a mock emergency exercise at Frankston’s Bayside Shopping Centre last week.

Although it was only an exercise, it felt very real at the same time for participants including Frankston police, CFA, ambos – and a group of Monash University final year paramedic students who put their medical skills to good use coping with the carnage. 

Frankston police Sergeant Pat Hayes said the exercise was a vital training aid in which a range of complementary services could practise working together, fine tune their skills and liaise on a professional level in a supposedly crisis situation.

It was certainly a dramatic scene, with CFA crews in thick smoke extinguishing the simulated car fire, and police searching for the “offender” who then “stabbed” his ex-partner at her workplace – the centre’s food court – as well as a bystander trying to help her. Ambulance crews and the paramedics treated the “wounded” while the focus shifted to tracking down the offender using the CCTV cameras and watching his movements.

This part of the operation was handled by the Frankston police’s divisional operation support office (DOSO) crews using CCTV cameras who liaised with officers at the shopping centre, followed the suspect and advised police on the scene.

The exercise ran from 6.30-8pm with a 30-minute debriefing afterwards. Each action was assessed for its effectiveness in a specific timeframe.

“Afterwards, we went over it and discussed how it had played out and sought feedback,” Sergeant Hayes said. “We finished off with a question-and-answer session to see what we had done, what we could have done better and what we can improve on.”

He thanked the students for their participation.

“These exercises are an enormous learning curve and assist us to smoothly implement best emergency management practices into a ‘real time’ event.”

Monash University teacher and ambulance paramedic Paul Toll said the 10 third-year paramedic students – including the two “patients” – loved their roles in the exercise.

Student Charlotte Patton played the deranged assailant’s “ex-partner”. She wrestled with him and was dragged over the counter in the food court during the “confrontation” when “bystander” Jake Hickleton intervened. Sadly, he was “stabbed” several times and “died” of cardio arrest at the scene.

“They all loved their roles,” Mr Toll said.

“They have all done placements previously and used advanced life support treatments that paramedics apply while out on the road.”

First published in the Frankston Times – 17 October 2016

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Stephen Taylor

Related Posts

Tree milestone met

4 July 2025

Advocates celebrate abuse law change

3 July 2025

More money for emergency relief

3 July 2025
Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Peninsula Essence Magazine

Click Here to Read

1 July 2025
Peninsula Kids Magazine

Click Here to Read

3 June 2025
Property of the Week

34 Pine Hill Drive, Frankston

21 March 2025
Council Watch

Council considers LGBTQIA+ initiatives

11 June 2025

New conditions applied to grants

4 June 2025
100 Years Ago this Week

Baxter – On The ‘Wallaby’ with a walking group

1 July 2025
Interviews

Writing racecourse history

6 February 2024
Contact

Street: 1/15 Wallis Drive, Hastings, 3915
Mailing: PO Box 588, Hastings, 3915

Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Police investigate Bonbeach collision
About

Established in 2006, Mornington Peninsula News Group (MPNG) is a locally owned and operated, independent media company.

MPNG publishes five weekly community newspapers: the Western Port News, Mornington News, Southern Peninsula News, Frankston Times and Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News.

MPNG also publishes two glossy magazines: Peninsula Essence and Peninsula Kids.

Facebook X (Twitter)
© 2025 Mornington Peninsula News Group.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.