Rescue Benevolent Fund takes on new trustee

In December 2022, we welcomed our sixth trustee, in the form of Brendan Sloan, who many will already know as BCRC Medical Officer.

We thought we’d take the opportunity to welcome Brendan to the Rescue Benevolent Fund, and introduce him to the wider mountain and cave rescue community.

Brendan Sloan, Rescue Benevolent Fund trustee
Brendan Sloan in his ‘happy habitat’. Image supplied by Brendan.

Brendan is a member of Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation (DCRO) and South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team (SMWCRT). An enthusiastic caver, his caving career began while studying medicine at Sheffield University. Since then his passion for the underground world has taken him across the UK, and further afield to Spain, Morocco, China, Crete and Borneo. In 2005, he took on the role of team doctor for DCRO, and continues to be a member and team leader.

In 2016, he was appointed consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals. He is now lead for burns anaesthesia and burns ICU.

In 2017, he was elected medical officer for the British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC). His role involves dealing with medical queries from teams and keeping teams aware of medical issues of concern to cave rescue. He represents cave rescue at the MREW medical subcommittee and UKSAR Medical Group and also coordinates the MREW Casualty Care exam.

In November 2021, he was involved in the lengthy and complex rescue from Ogof Ffynnon Ddu. And, in 2018, he supported the rescue effort to free thirteen young footballers from a flooded cave in Thailand.

So why Brendan?

Essentially, we wanted to strengthen the skill set within the trustees. We’re well-rounded in terms of the professional experience we each bring to the table, but it made sense to have a medical mind in the group. Even better, one who has such strong links with cave rescue. Given that the fund supports both mountain and cave rescue, this was important to us.

We look forward to working with Brendan, to help support mountain and cave rescue team members when they need it.

To find out more about the Rescue Benevolent Fund and how we can help, take a look here.