ABERDARE, South Wales — Emergency crews required seven hours to remove a bariatric patient from her home and into an ambulance for transport to a local hospital.
Twenty-two-year-old Georgia Davis, who weighs about 840 pounds (60 stones), was lifted from the ground floor apartment using a high amperage crane. Witnesses say there were about 12 emergency vehicles at the scene, and roads were shut down to accommodate the response, Express reports.
Her home had been adapted to accommodate her size with French doors opening onto the street to allow for easier access in the case of a medical emergency, Daily Mail reports.
Davis developed a severe infection that required hospital treatment, and responders initiated a logistical operation to transport her from her home to an ambulance.
Three nurses from a local hospital and a paramedic arrived to prepare for the move. They were joined by a fire officer who assessed the dimensions and route of the removal, and determined the French doors should be removed.
Responders at first tried to use a mobile crane and a reinforced stretcher to lift her, but the crane was not strong enough. A second crane was brought in, which involved closing about a half-mile of road.
Here’s how Britain’s fattest woman was rescued from her flat http://t.co/q5EdNhMEtj pic.twitter.com/NaCzijcEih
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) May 1, 2015
Witnesses told Daily Mail at one point there appeared to be as many as 40 emergency personnel on scene.
“We can confirm that the fire service was brought in earlier today to assist us with access to a property in order to safely transport a patient into hospital,” A spokeswoman for Cwm Taf University Health Board said. “We do not comment on individual patients.”
Davis was removed from her home seven hours after the procedure began, and was taken in a reinforced ambulance to Royal Glamorgan Hospital.
“We attended a joint operation with colleagues from Cwm Taf University Health Board, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service, and South Wales Police to assist in the transportation of a patient to hospital,” a spokesman for the Welsh Ambulance Service said. “This involved nine personnel from Welsh Ambulance Service and two from EMRTS. The operation started with preparation on site at 9.15 a.m. and our staff left the scene at 4 p.m.”