|
First person on the scene?
If you are the first person to arrive on the scene of an accident, here are
something's you should and should not do:
- Be safe. Prevent a second accident and pull your car
completely off of the road. Make sure there are no electrical lines or
chemicals that might injure yourself or others.
- Get more help. If you can, call 9-1-1 and report the
accident (what happened, where it happened, etc.). Don't hang up until the
dispatcher tells you that you can; he or she may need more information. If you
cannot call, ask the next person to go and call for help.
- Identify serious injuries. EMS uses the term "triage" (a
French word for sorting) to identify the most seriously injured patients and
then treat them first. Difficulty breathing, severe bleeding and altered
mental status are some of the signs that a patient needs immediate emergency
care.
- Do NOT move the injured unless they are immediate danger of
further injury. For example, don't try to remove them from a car unless the
car is in danger of catching fire. Don't move the patient's head (no pillows
to make them comfortable!) unless you need to in order to maintain their
ability to breathe.
If you need us...
While we hope you and your family will never need our services, we stand ready
to help in case you do. If you ever find yourself in that situation, here are a
few things you can do to help things go more smoothly:
- To report an emergency, call 9-1-1. Tell the dispatcher who
answers where you are and where help is needed (if a different place). Be sure
to include the apartment number, if applicable, and make sure he/she knows if
you live on a Street or an Avenue so we don't go to the wrong road. Give the
dispatcher a brief description of current problem ("I'm having chest pain now"
not "I had a heart attack last year") and answer any questions he or she might
have. It will help make sure the right people are sent to your aid. Do not
hang up the telephone until the dispatcher tells you it is okay.
- Remain calm and remain safe. You cannot help anyone if you
are in trouble.
- Gather the patient's medications and any medical
information about them that you can. If appropriate, contact the patient's
family so they can give the ambulance and hospital more information about the
patient.
- Make sure we can find you easily. If possible, have someone
outside to guide the ambulance to the right place. Turn on any lights that you
can and try to keep the path between the door and the patient clear so we can
move the patient as easily as possible.
- We recommend large, light-colored, block numbers for
identifying houses and apartments. In the middle of the night, it is much
easier to find a big white "42" than it is to read a black, script sign.
- Move pets to another room and close the door. Like
people, pets worry about their "family" and may get in the way of our caring
for the patient, especially when a number
of strangers come rushing in and surround the person they love.
|
