000 Emergencies In The Outdoors

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000 Emergencies In The Outdoors

• Preparation And Strategies For Dealing With That
  Worst Case Scenario

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Emergencies In The Outdoors3 Most Likely Reasons
For A 000 Call Out
Help Im Lost

• Searches
• For lost or overdue parties
• Rescue
• Trapped parties
• Medivac
• Injuries or Illness

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Overview Of Session

• Peter Conelius
• NSW Police Emergency Management (South Coast)
• 000 protocols, exchanging information with 000,
  maintaining ongoing contact, prevention
  strategies.
• Lost or trapped party emergency management.
• Peter Croft
• NSW Ambulance Service
• Medical Evacuation Protocols and Preparedness.
• What happens when the Ambulance Service is called
  in.
• How you may assist incoming rescuers.
• Ian Boyle
• Outdoor Education Coordinator Scots College
• Systems and policies to help emergency readiness.
  
• Questions to the experts. What do outdoor
  organisations need to know and have in place?

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Sunday Afternoon 1500hrs

• You are seated in the Communications room at base
  camp and the following radio or sat. phone
  message comes in from one of your groups in the
  field.

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Radio Call

• Emergency, Emergency, Emergency. Base this is
  Apple Tree Flat Parent hike. I have a parent that
  has just slipped and gone over a small drop, they
  are presently in a lot of pain and appear to have
  broken their leg and are showing sign of shock.
  We need assistance, I repeat, we need assistance,
  over.

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When Should We Call For Outside Assistance?
Two areas that can help with this decision making
process

• Your policies and procedures can give you
  guidelines. (Staff Knowledge of Policy Is
  Important.)
• Emergency services Guidelines?
• Lets look at these in more detail!

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Written Policy and Emergency Procedures Can Give
Clear Guidance Regarding When To Call For Help

• Emergency Action Plan
• Injured Participant Policy Guidelines
• Lost Participant Policy Guidelines

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When Does Emergency Services Recommend That 000
and Outside Assistance Be Called In?

• Comment from Peter Conelius
• Comment from Peter Croft

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000 Call Centre Overview Of Current System in NSW

• Where is 000 situated?
• Who are you talking to?
• 000 System Overview
• Pros and Cons of System!

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000 Call Centre Required Information

• Calling triple zero (000)
• Questions you will be asked
• What is the exact location of the emergency?
• What is your call-back telephone number?
• What happened, what is the problem?
• What is the injured persons age?
• Is the person conscious?
• Is the person breathing?

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What Can Outdoor Organisations Have In Place to
Ensure Efficient Communications With 000?

• Develop an Emergency Incident Information
  Recording Sheet To Record Important Info.
• Include a place to record Emergency Services
  direct call back number, so you can check on the
  progress of help.
• Include your direct phone/sat phone number or
  radio frequency so that emergency services could
  contact you in the field if required.

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Once the 000 call has been made what happens?

• What organisations are called in Police,
  Ambulance, other?
• Who decides who is sent?
• What input or recommendations should the caller
  have on this decision?
• What are their response times and what influences
  these?
• Location Distance from airport or town? What are
  the operating range capabilities of vehicles or
  helicopter?
• Time of Day? Day Vs Night Emergencies?
• Weather Influences?

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Location InformationWhat Is The Preferred
Protocol From Wilderness Areas?

• GPS note the format
• Degrees, minutes, seconds
• Degrees and decimals of degrees
• Latitude and longitude
• Map reference
• Grid reference

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What Could Go Wrong At This Stage?Brief Case
Study Glengarry 1999 Accident

• Glengarry mix up cost several hours of time!
• Do you give the address of accident or where to
  meet others who can pass on information and
  assist with local knowledge?

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Communications With Emergency Services

• Communications To Emergency Services From The
  Field
• Walk out to nearest place with communications
  (old school)
• Telephone is preferred (Satellite phone). Groups
  in trouble however must know location.
• Epirb can provide the location variable for
  parties that are lost.
• Overview of new Epirb capabilities.
• VHF or UHF in house radio systems back to a base
  station who then calls emergency services.
• Communications From Emergency Services To The
  Field
• Helicopter has the following capabilities
• Mobile phone
• VHF
• UHF
• SMR
• Wulfsberg can tune to virtually any radio
  frequency
• Emergency Services may contact you as they are
  approaching!

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Lost or Trapped PartiesRole Of NSW Police

• Prevention Is The Ideal!
• Choose the right location for the skill of the
  group
• Do Not send groups off and hope all will be okay!
• Precautions
• Lodge Route Plans with authorities.
• Liaise with your local police, ambos.
• Lessons learnt from D of E Scout rescues from
  the past few years!

Which Way Now?
The more a lost party keeps moving (in the wrong
direction) the larger the search area becomes.
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Emergency Medical Evacuations

• Either through your policies guiding your
  practice or contact with emergency services, a
  decision has been made to call in medical
  assistance to aid an evacuation of the injured.
• Peter Croft will now talk us through the medical
  evacuation process and how outdoor organisation
  can assist this process.

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Evacuation ProcessGround Based or Air Evacuation?

• What factors determine the kind of evacuation
  procedure?
• What kind of information should be given to 000
  to aid in this decision making process.

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Preparing For EvacuationPatient Readiness

• Clothing
• Jewellery
• Personal information
• Incident information
• Medical history
• These should be easily available
• Other belongings
• Accompanying the injured person? Can a
  leader/teacher go with an injured student?

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Helicopter Landing Evacuations

• If a helicopter can land near the rescue location
  there are steps that can be taken to aid this
  process. The following gives an overview of these!

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Landing Site Preparations

• An individual standing at the edge of and facing
  the intended helipad with arms raised (back to
  the wind).
• Upon sighting the aircraft and within reasonable
  range activate smoke flares or signal fire.

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Obstacle Checks

• Check For
• Power or telephone wires
• Antennas
• Trees
• Ground obstructions star posts
• Also note livestock etc
• Debris
• Outdoor Equipment Packs, tarps, tents, clothing.
• Should this information be passed on to the
  incoming pilot? How can this best be achieved?

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Helicopter Evacuation Winching

• Capabilities of craft. Environmental terrain
  barriers?
• When would winching be utilised?
• Who makes the decision to winch?
• How would this kind of evacuation unfold?
• Does the patient need to be prepared differently?
• Can Outdoor Ed field staff assist with this
  process? If yes, how?

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Preparing For Evacuation Management of Party

• Safety of the group must also be considered when
  a helicopter is landing or working overhead.
• What steps can leaders make to ensure the safety
  of bystanders and their equipment?

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Video Footage Ambulance Rescue of Base Jumper

• Peter Croft to Highlight rescue of base jumper in
  the Blue Mountains.
• Short Video Highlighting Operational
  Possibilities and Rescue Process in difficult
  terrain.

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Emergency DocumentationLegal Preparations For
Pending Investigations

• Legal Responsibilities
• Communications Log Book
• Document All Actions
• Responses
• Phone calls
• Actions of internal rescuers
• Have field staff keep a field journal of actions
  taken and times these took place.
• When time permits gather all this information
  along with leader and witness statements.
• Past experience has shown that these steps can be
  invaluable if your emergency response is
  investigated.

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Questions / Comments

• Any questions or comments?

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For Further Assistance Presenters Contact Details

• Peter Conelius Ph 4226 7712
• cone1pet_at_police.nsw.gov.au
• Peter Croft Ph 9782 9881
• PCroft_at_ambulance.nsw.gov.au
• Ian Boyle Ph 4465 1089
• i.boyle_at_tsc.nsw.edu.au

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Glengarry Emergency Action PlanOn Campus Response

• Glengarry Contacts
• Outdoor coordinator
• Glengarry Director
• Assistant Director
• Acting Head of Campus
• Clinic sister on duty
• Other available staff

Safety Officer Take call from field staff / Calm
and reassure
Continued link to field
Contact key People
School / Family Communication Sequence
Document Gather all available information
Major Incident
Minor Incident Utilise Parent Notification
Protocol
Determine Response Required Liaise with Field
staff / Outdoor Coordinator / Others
External Response Initial contact with outside
resources
Internal Response Safety Vehicle / equipment on
standby Clinic Sister on call
Glengarry Director

• Other External Services
• National Parks
• Volunteer Marine Rescue
• Doctors / Medical Centres
• Local resources

• Emergency Services
• Police
• Ambulance
• Fire service
• SES

• GG Evacuation
• Self managed
• Staff Hike in
• Staff Canoe in
• Other

GG Emergency Field Response
College Principal

• Safety Box Equipment
• - Rescue resources
• Field Response Team
• Rescue packs/ provisions

Critical Incident Management Team
Liaise with and assist External Service Providers
Help group in field to prepare for outside
contact
GG Vehicle Pick Up required? 2WD / 4WD
School / Family Communication - refer above
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Glengarry Evacuation Planning
A copy of all documentation relating to the
patient must accompany them when evacuated from
the field
When selecting the type of evacuation consider

• The following conditions require an evacuation
• Concussion (loss of consciousness or amnesia)
• Suspected spinal injury
• Use of epinephrine or history of severe allergic
  reactions
• Near drowning (use of rescue breathing)
• Lightning strike (involving burns, cessation of
  breathing,
• cardiac arrest, change in level of consciousness)
• Severe Burns - Blistering
• Or any condition that you consider may pose a
  danger to the injured

Patient condition - Are they
in need of immediate medical attention? - Is
their condition rapidly deteriorating? - Would a
ground evacuation aggravate delicate injuries
such as spinal column damage?
Evacuation Options
Number and experience of potential rescuers -
Are there enough people available to carry a
litter? - What are the physical abilities of the
carriers?
Patient is picked up by a Glengarry or emergency
services vehicle
Resources - Would an
improvised litter suffice? - What is the
availability of a backboard or backpacks for
making litter? - Other materials available with
which to improvise?
Patient walks out escorted by a self-sufficient
team of three people (minimum one instructor)
Patient walks out escorted by the whole group

Terrain and Weather - What
is the condition of the trail (if any) or
terrain? - How far from the nearest road are
you? - How far from the nearest landing zone are
you? - Helicopter access into the area you are
in? - Is the weather getting worse? (Most
helicopters will not fly in a remote area in
poor weather.) Dark
Patient is carried out in a litter by group or by
rescue team
Patient is carried to helicopter landing site
and evacuated from there
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Still To Do

• Get intranet disk and link slides to
• Policy that governs lost and emergency evacs
• Emergency response check list
• Get Peter Conelius forms to hand out
• Photocopy emergency readiness forms