Aims
The Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland (MRC of S) is the representative and co-ordinating body for mountain rescue in Scotland. It liaises with all departments, authorities and providers of search and rescue services in mountainous terrain and, through the Scottish Home and Health Department, it maintains a series of mountain rescue posts at strategic locations throughout Scotland. It administers and organises seminars and training courses for team members and publishes an in-house magazine "CASBAG" on a bi-annual basis. It also provides grant aid to Scottish mountain rescue teams in respect of training by acting as a central focus for charitable donations.

One of its key functions is to collate and analyse mountain accident information in Scotland. It produces an annual report listing each and every incident (by Region) in Scotland, which is published in the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal. CLICK HERE to see the table which shows the number of call outs, casualties and fatalities over the past 35 year period.

The MRC of S has charitable status and is funded entirely through voluntary contributions. At the present time, it is working very closely with the Order of St. John who are funding Vehicles for all teams as well as Posts for those teams in need.

The Committee has developed over many years a set of 'Guidelines for Good Practice' which all teams use as a foundation for their training and operational work. The Guidelines are monitored and revised when required and demonstrate the Committee's and each team's commitment to professionalism, health and safety and structured training within a voluntary context.

Membership
The MRC of S is administered by an Executive Committee which meets quarterly. It comprises a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Medical Officer, Training Officer, Equipment Officer and Statistician. It also contains representatives from the Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) and the Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre (Kinloss). It has the authority to co-opt additional members and at present there are members representing the Scottish Mountain Leader Training Board, Mountain Rescue Council, Mountaineering Council of Scotland and the Scottish Mountain Safety Forum. The Editor of CASBAG is also a co-opted member.

The General Committee of the MRC of S meets twice each year. It comprises representatives from the 28 mountain rescue teams in Scotland (23 civilian, 2 RAF, 3 Police), the Search and Rescue Dog Association as well as other organisations including the eight Police authorities, the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy, HM Coastguard, Bristows Helicopters, the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, the Scottish Mountain Safety Forum, the Scottish Ambulance Service, sportscotland and the Scottish Cave Rescue Organisation.

Issues

Both Committees respond to key matters as they arise but they are also pro-active in looking to the future needs of Scottish mountain rescue. In the last couple of years matters relating to funding, publications, communications, constitution, training, equipment, insurance and first aid/medicine have all been discussed. At the time of writing, the Committee is actively seeking funds to develop a new stretcher which will not only be lighter than existing models but also incorporate medical features such as the casualty bag and oxygen bottles. It is looking to find the best ways to publicise and record its work for both internal and outside markets. Some of its members are also involved in planning the second UK mountain rescue conference to be held in September, 2002 in Edinburgh.

Representation

The MRC of S has representation on various organisations (eg, the Scottish Mountain Leader Training Board) with a brief specific to the provision of search and rescue and mountain safety. It has reciprocal representation with the Mountain Rescue Council of England and Wales and the Irish Mountain Rescue Association. It is also a full and independent member of IKAR, the International Kommision for Alpine Rescue. It is represented on the United Kingdom Search and Rescue Operators' Group (UKSAROPS) and on the UKSAROPS Communications Working Group by members of the Executive Committee.

Distinguished Service Award

At its AGM in 2001, the Committee initiated a 'Distinguished Service Award' which is given to those individuals who have made a highly significant contribution to mountain rescue in Scotland at team level or national level. At its meeting of the General Committee in November, 2001, the first four members will be presented with the award.