000 Emergencies In The Outdoors

1. 000 Emergencies In The Outdoors Preparation And Strategies For Dealing With That Worst Case Scenario

2. Emergencies In The Outdoors3 Most Likely Reasons For A 000 Call Out Help I’m Lost • Searches • For lost or overdue parties • Rescue • Trapped parties • Medivac • Injuries or Illness

3. 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?

4. 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.

5. 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”.

6. 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!

7. 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

8. When Does Emergency Services Recommend That 000 and Outside Assistance Be Called In? • Comment from Peter Conelius • Comment from Peter Croft

9. 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!

10. 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?

11. 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.

12. 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 V’s Night Emergencies? • Weather Influences?

13. 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

14. 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?

15. 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!

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. Preparing For Evacuation:Patient 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?

20. 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!

21. 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.

22. 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?

23. 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?

24. 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?

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. Questions / Comments • Any questions or comments?

28. For Further Assistance Presenters Contact Details • Peter Conelius Ph: 4226 7712 • cone1pet@police.nsw.gov.au • Peter Croft Ph: 9782 9881 • PCroft@ambulance.nsw.gov.au • Ian Boyle Ph: 4465 1089 • i.boyle@tsc.nsw.edu.au

29. 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 Continued link to field Safety Officer Take call from field staff / Calm and reassure Contact key People School / Family Communication Sequence Document Gather all available information Minor Incident Utilise Parent Notification Protocol Major Incident 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 • Emergency Services • Police • Ambulance • Fire service • SES • Other External Services • National Parks • Volunteer Marine Rescue • Doctors / Medical Centres • Local resources • 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

30. Glengarry Evacuation Planning A copy of all documentation relating to the patient must accompany them when evacuated from the field • 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 When selecting the type of evacuation consider: 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 ispicked up by a Glengarry or emergency services vehicle Patient walks out escorted by a self-sufficient team of three people (minimum one instructor) 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 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

31. 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