5 tips for helping children at the scene of a traffic accident
As first responders to the scene, paramedics are fully equipped to handle traumatic situations, but it can be a particularly challenging task where children are amongst the injured.
According to a global status report on road safety published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2015, African roads are the world’s most dangerous. Passenger injuries are often lethal in the high road toll. According to the report, the only people more likely to die on African roads than passengers are pedestrians.
In addition to the lethal nature of the injuries passengers and pedestrians suffer from road accidents are very often fatal. According to South African private ambulance and emergency service, ER24, paramedics deal with collisions on a daily basis, many where children are involved. As a result, they have an insight into the vulnerability of children when it comes to collisions. John Ramcharan, a branch manager at the service said in about half of the incidents they respond to the children sustain either serious or fatal injuries.
Yolande Baker, Executive Director of Childsafe South Africa said in a report entitled ‘Safer Streets for Children Campaign Launches to Save Kids’ Lives’ that Childsafe’s research shows most of the children injured or killed on South African roads are passengers or pedestrians. “They are injured or killed as a direct result of reckless or negligent driving by drivers who drive too fast, who drive drunk or take risky decisions on the road,” said Baker.
According to Childsafe’s reports in 2017 children have specific anatomical and physiological limitations that render them more vulnerable to serious injury. In 2017, 1 300 children were killed on South African roads according to research conducted by Childsafe under its UNICEF-backed Prevention of Road Injuries Impacting Children in South Africa (PRICSA) programme.
“Over weekends we typically see collisions involving families, and during the week we see taxi collisions involving school children,” said Ramcharan who, along with ER24’s trauma coordinator said that it is far more difficult to treat children than adults.
As first responders to the scene, paramedics are fully equipped to handle traumatic situations, but it can be a particularly challenging task where children are amongst the injured. “Most of the staff within the EMS are mothers or fathers themselves. When you see a little kid on the scene, you tend to think that this could have been my child. You are more emotionally involved, and while you provide treatment, you provide comfort too. We’ve been on scenes where we’ve had to hold and comfort babies anything between 8 months to a year old. Your parenting instinct kicks in,” said Ramcharan.
“Any type of incident can be terrifying and traumatic for anyone, but even more so for a child. While other patients are relieved at the arrival of paramedics, children can find the arrival of uniformed responders daunting and frightening.”
These tips might help you if you find yourself at the scene of an accident where there are children involved. At the very least, they will give you some tips to minimise harm until the experts can arrive to take over.
- Choose your words carefully
Ramcharan explained that he takes extra care when dealing with children at a scene. “Most of the time when we get to a scene where children are involved they are usually scared or sad and ask for their parents,” said Ramcharan.
- Never stop communicating
Ramcharan said that keeping the child informed throughout the process is essential to helping them cope. “It is crucial to talk to the child and to talk to them continuously. Tell them what you are busy with now, even if you are taking their blood pressure or checking for any injuries. This is the only way you can gain their trust and help them to remain calm so that you can treat them.”
- Get to the level of the child
“I’ve always maintained that when you treat a child, you always go down to their level. Kneel and treat the child. Look them in their eyes and introduce yourself before you even attempt to ask where they are hurting,” said Ramcharan.
- Repeat and repeat as needed
Ramcharan said the communication with a child patient often needs perseverance and said forbearance is essential in communicating effectively. “I find that repeating a question is important. A child might be thinking of a million different things at the same time and might not open up immediately.”He explained that treating the child with care isn’t just important for the immediate treatment of injuries but also can have an effect on the lasting effects of the trauma.
- Be honest where possible
At Grobler, ER24 Trauma Coordinator explained that the world-view of children is important to remember. “The reality is the perception of the child. The perception of their experience is on their level. A child will most likely remember the gentle person on the scene who spoke to them or asked if I was scared.
Children are clever, they can read body language, and they can understand different tones of voices. Absolute honesty is required when speaking to children. If the child asks where their mother or father is, tell them she is being looked after in the ambulance, or he is still entrapped in the vehicle.
If a scene is horrific, that is when you will keep a child away from it as that will be what they will remember for the rest of their lives. But, for the most part, be as honest as possible.”
“Their parents might not always be nearby, and you have to ensure that you provide the comfort they might need at that moment. There is a specific way you go about treating a child.
It does come with years of experience within the service. Your mannerisms are different when you work with a child. You have to be soft-spoken and also choose words that a child will understand. Make them feel comfortable in an otherwise stressful situation.
Experience beats classroom training every time
Paramedics are given specialised training on how to treat children, but Ramcharan said nothing quite prepares a first responder for the reality of helping children in real life scenes except the benefit of years of experience on the road.
“In a classroom environment, you are told how to treat a child. With exposure and experience on the road, you learn the art of treating a child and how to gain their trust in order to treat them,” he said.
Although the training equips paramedics on how to handle different situations or scenes, some of the scenes also necessitate for the expertise of trained trauma counsellors like Grobler.
“I usually get called to the scene when the impact is of such a nature that someone’s way of life will likely change for the rest of their lives. For example, at a suicide scene. Paramedics are equipped to heal someone or put them on a path of healing, but they are not equipped to offer therapy.
“We come in when it is no longer bodily injuries that need to be treated, but rather injuries pertaining to the heart or the soul,” explained Grobler.
Source: ER24
