The Press Association
LONDON — The paramedic who saved the life of the most seriously injured survivor of the London 7/7 attacks has criticised his bosses’ failure to send more ambulances to the bomb sites.
Graeme Baker said it was “frustrating’’ to learn after the tragedy that some colleagues stationed nearby were left doing nothing as he treated horrifically wounded Danny Biddle at Edgware Road Tube station.
Mr Baker was the first paramedic to arrive at the scene after the July 7, 2005 bombing and immediately requested eight more ambulances, the inquests for the 52 victims of the atrocities heard.
But help was slow in arriving and available crews at neighbouring ambulance stations in Willesden and Park Royal were not sent at all, the hearing was told. Mr Baker said: “I appreciate for control there were four major incidents going on at the same time, it was very difficult. But when you hear later that other stations just didn’t attend or weren’t doing anything, then it was quite frustrating.’'
Mr Baker also voiced concerns about the lack in 2005 of radios that worked underground, sufficiently strong painkillers and intravenous fluids suitable for trauma patients.
Plot ringleader Mohammed Sidique Khan killed himself and six others when he detonated his homemade rucksack bomb on a westbound Circle line train at Edgware Road station at about 8.50am on July 7, 2005. That morning Mr Baker was on standby with colleague Nick Mars at St John’s Wood ambulance station, half a mile away.
At 9.08am the pair were given “vague’’ information about an incident at the Tube station and arrived four minutes later, the hearing was told. The inquest heard that a London Underground manager suggested the Edgware Road blast was terrorist-related, but Mr Baker said: “None of this made its way to us.’'
On arrival at the station the medics saw no other emergency services and after pausing to treat passenger Davinia Turrell, who had serious burns to her face, they went down to the bombed train. They came across Mr Biddle, who had been standing feet from Khan and lost both legs, his left eye and his spleen after being blown out of the carriage by the blast.
After the incident, Mr Baker filled in a feedback form listing a series of problems ranging from a lack of leadership to an oxygen cylinder failing. Summarising the lessons to be learned, he wrote: “Need comms systems. Need better analgesia (painkillers). Need correct fluids. When requesting further resources, why didn’t we get them?’'
The paramedic also highlighted the problems caused by the lack of radios that could transmit messages from the tunnel to the surface, writing: “No comms between crews - had to shout.’' A police officer voiced concerns about problems with lighting in the train which left paramedics “working in the dark’’, the inquest was told. Pc Potter also said there were worries about the safety of the Tube tunnel after cracks appeared in the walls.
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