Being a bystander at an accident scene is invariably a stressful event and frightening experience.
Not only is it a dangerous environment to disembark from your vehicle but the sight of injured, bleeding people or children can induce panic in the toughest of people.
Paramedics at ER24 deal with such incidents on a daily basis and are specifically trained and equipped to cope with and treat patients on such scenes.
But what happens if you are the first person to come across the accident?
The following tips can help you navigate through such an incident and help you to calmly, safely and carefully look after yourself, the patients and the accident scene while waiting for the emergency services.
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• Pull your vehicle over and park in a safe position off the road.
• Turn on your hazard lights and disembark.
• Don’t put your bright lights on, as this may temporarily blind oncoming motorists.
• If the accident is on a blind rise or bend, parking your vehicle back from the accident in a ‘fend-off’ position so vehicles see the accident scene may help prevent further accidents.
• Put out your warning triangles if you have them.
Assisting the injured:
• If you have a first aid kit, take it out of your vehicle and put on the rubber gloves that are inside the first aid kit.
• Calm and reassure the people that have been involved in the accident.
• Make them aware you have called the emergency services and that help is on the way.
• This may be the only thing and the most important thing you can do to help someone involved in an accident.
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The most important principles when helping an accident victim are the following:
• Do not attempt heroics which may potentially jeopardise your own safety. You are of no use to anyone if you become injured while attempting to help others.
• If there is any fire or any flames and you have a fire extinguisher, use it and direct the foam or water at the base of the flames.
• Do not move the patients or attempt to remove them from the vehicle unless there is an immediate threat to life (e.g. the car is on fire and you are unable to extinguish it). There may be an underlying injury to the neck or spine and unnecessary movement could make this worse.
• Check if the person is breathing. If the patient is breathing leave them in the position you find them and monitor them regularly.
• If the patient is not breathing and you have been trained to do so, you may begin CPR and rescue breathing as necessary.
• If a person is bleeding heavily from a wound, take any available material such as a t-shirt or gauze from the first aid kit and place it over the open, bleeding wound.
• Then press tightly applying direct pressure to the wound.
• Maintain that pressure until the emergency services arrive.
• Do not stop pressing to check if there is continued bleeding or to look at the wound. This procedure may save a person’s life.
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Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za, Leigh Hodgson (News Editor) leighh@caxton.co.za or Busi Vilakazi (Journalist) busiv@caxton.co.za.
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