The incident was reported at around 4.30pm on Friday, July 31, on Caldey Island, near Tenby. A woman had suffered a medical emergency while visiting the island, and coastguards at the scene requested assistance, prompting two Tenby RNLI lifeboats to be launched.
The all-weather lifeboat waited for a Welsh Ambulance Service paramedic to arrive at the station, while the inshore lifeboat headed to the island first to provide initial casualty care.
Tenby Lifeboats RNLI shared on Facebook: "The volunteer crew quickly located the woman on the beach at Priory Bay, and several crew members went ashore to assess her condition."
Rescue operation
Shortly afterwards, the all-weather lifeboat arrived on scene carrying the paramedic, along with several members of Tenby Coastguard rescue team, who were tasked with setting up a landing site for a Coastguard helicopter that was also en route from Cardiff.
The paramedic, more lifeboat crew and the coastguard were conveyed ashore, with the paramedic taking over treatment, assisted by the lifeboat crew.
When the helicopter arrived, the casualty was immobilised, placed onto a stretcher and loaded into the aircraft. The coastguard paramedic took over treatment during the flight to hospital in Cardiff.
The island
With the casualty on her way to hospital, the coastguard team and ambulance paramedic were transferred back aboard the lifeboat before it returned to Tenby. Caldey Island is less than a mile off the Pembrokeshire coast, around a 20-minute boat ride from Tenby.
After the Norman conquest, Benedictine monks established a priory on Caldey, and it remains a working monastic community today, though now run by a Cistercian order. It is a popular destination for tourists who visit its village, old priory, historic church and chocolate factory, as well as scenic walking trails rich with wildlife.
