Fatal accident Essay

==Introduction Scenario 1 There has been a fatal accident- a student has been found drowned in hydro pool. What is the procedure? When a person is drowning, the air passages close to prevent water from entering the lungs. This also prevents air from entering the lungs, and therefore depriving the victim of oxygen and eventually leading to unconsciousness and death. As in all first aid, the key rule is to protect yourself. The student who is drowning can strike out and pull down even the most competent swimmer; dirty water can hide dangers such as metal rubbish with sharp edges; and cold water can cause muscles to cramp very quickly. If possible, reach to the student from the safety using a pole, rope, aid to enable him to help himself out of the water. If in doubt about your ability to rescue the person safely, call for emergency help. 1. Keep the person still after they have been pulled out of the water. Any type of movement can possibly cause additional injuries. 2. Seek out help immediately. Dial 911 or send out someone to dispatch an ambulance to the scene of the drowning. 3. Begin mouth to mouth resuscitation if the drowning victim is not breathing on his own. Quickly sweep his mouth to remove any foreign objects and then place his head tilted upwards. Breathe every few seconds through his mouth while holding his nose shut. 4. Continue breathing for him until he is able to breathe on his own. If vomiting occurs, clear the mouth and continue the mouth to mouth resuscitation. 5. Check the victim for a pulse. Place your fingers on the drowning victim’s neck and feel for a pulse. If there is none, you will have to begin CPR. 6. Allow the emergency personnel to take over once they arrive. They will be able to perform additional medical procedures on the victim as well as provide him with oxygen What you shouldn’t do: 1. Do not rescue a victim if you cannot swim yourself. It would not be helpful to the student or safe for you if you try to rescue a victim without knowing how to swim. Get help or throw a flotation device to the student. 2. Do not rescue a student if you feel the victim is too large for you to bring to safety. It would not be helpful if you reach the student but cannot move her. 3. Do not leave an active drowning student while you go to get help. Remember, it takes less than 1 minute for someone to drown. Scenario 2 A student you do 1:1 work with is very withdrawn. She looks like she hasn’t had a bath for days, has dark bags under her eyes and bruise marks on her wrists. What should you do? This can be a very delicate matter, when you’re dealing with a child and therefore the right procedures should be taken when dealing with these matters. What a staff would have to do is: – Remain calm & reassure the child – Look for a quiet place to talk to the child alone without pressuring her. – Tell the child that you may need to another member of staff & reassure her that she hasn’t done anything wrong and she’s not in trouble so she doesn’t worry. – Do not pressure them to say something and if they do, and that you’re glad that the child told you. – Inform the social  services and possibly the police. Some professionals such as doctors, nurses, police and school teachers are legally obliged to report suspected child abuse. Any person who believes on reasonable grounds that a child needs protection can make a report to the Victorian Child Protection Service. It is the Child Protection worker’s job to assess and, where necessary, further investigate if a child or young person is at risk of significant harm. The Child Protection Service is part of the Victorian Department of Human Services. It provides child-centred, family-focused services to protect children and young people from significant harm caused by abuse or neglect within the family. Potential signs of child abuse: If you work with children and young people, you can help to keep them safe by being alert for the signs or indicators of harm and taking appropriate action early. People who work with children and young people should pay attention to: †¢ Physical signs of abuse or neglect – these could include bruises, burns, fractures (broken bones), frequent hunger, sexually transmitted infection (STI) or poor hygiene. †¢ Behavioural signs of abuse or neglect – these could include showing little or no emotion when hurt, wariness of their parents, alcohol or drug misuse, age-inappropriate sexual behaviour, stealing food, excessive friendliness to strangers or wearing long sleeves and trousers in hot weather (to hide bruises). †¢ If the child discloses they have been abused. How to respond: Each situation is different. In considering the most effective response that will ensure the child’s safety and wellbeing, you may need to gather information and facts. This could include: †¢ Make notes – record what you observe. Date and sign the entry. †¢ Continue to observe – record what you observe, and date and sign each entry. †¢ Consult colleagues –  get support and advice from your colleagues and supervisors. Compare notes and brainstorm possible strategies. †¢ Develop action plans based on procedures – familiarise yourself with your employer’s procedures and processes about what to do. †¢ Talk to other agencies about helping the family – collaborate with or engage family support services, community health services, local government services, regional Department of Human Services/Child Protection contacts and Disability Services. You may want to call a case conference for professionals to discuss their concerns. †¢ Talk to the child – do this with respect for the child’s or young person’s need for privacy and confidentiality. †¢ Talk to the parent or parents – if you believe it will not jeopardise the safety of the child or young person. External bleeding External bleeding from a limb should be controlled by applying firm pressure to the wound. Also if available, the wound with a large pad and bandage, keeping the pressure on as much as possible. Also if the blood of the person is seeping through, apply another dressing on top, but do not remove the first one. Internal bleeding An internal bleeding is caused by a rupture of an internal organ, this could be things such as the spleen or kidney, can result from a blow to the abdomen. When an internal bleeding happens you would not see any blood loss at all, although there may be signs of bruising. It is sometimes difficult to know when a person is bleeding internally, especially in the absence of an injury. In most cases, however, internal bleeding is indicated by the presence of blood in the vomit, stool, or urine, or by coughing up blood. Extensive internal bleeding can result in shock. Symptoms to watch for include feelings of anxiety and light-headedness; fainting; dilated pupils; cold, clammy skin; paleness; rapid, shallow breathing; shortness of breath. The casualty may start to feel light headed and nauseous. – Lay the casualty down and raise their legs. Cover with a blanker or coat to retain heat. – Be prepared to resuscitation. Reporting of report After the student has been taking care of and being dealt with, it is the manager’s job to write up an incident report of the student explaining how the accident happened, and if anyone was to witness this accident. This report will have to be detailed to exactly what happened so it should have the date and time and place on the report to what happened so if the drowning can’t be explained then the police can take over and read the report of what exactly happened. If the manager or whoever was taking care of the student did not write up a report then no one will know what exactly happened to the student. Any first aid incidents that are dealt with in a work setting need to be recorded in the accident book, in case there is any query at a later date. The accident book should have a record of the person’s name and the casualty, the nature of the injury, the date and time and location of the incident and a record of first aid treatment given. However without a record of the accident, it is not possible to claim compensation. Accessing support for own emotional reactions after an emergency Staff involved in rescuing or even caring for casualties can find they are emotionally traumatised after the event. Rescuers therefore might experience flash backs of the incident which could give them nightmares. There are several organisations that offer support to both victims and emergency services personnel during and after incidents. These will include the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and the women’s royal voluntary service. However sometimes counselling is required and it is always advisable to talk over the experience, even if this is not done in a formal session. When you see a person either drowning or either a child is abused the correct procedure should be taken in to action. You would have to be aware of your surroundings and keep in mind that health and safety is important. The first action you should take is call 911 if you see someone drowning so you get immediate help. You should notify a lifeguard if there is one close however is there is not a lifeguard then you should call 911 immediately. If no one is around then you you would have to help the student who is in  need for help by getting the student out of the water as fast as possible. The first respond you would do is to check if the student is breathing or not, as this is very important so you would have to check the pulse for 10 seconds. If you cannot find the pulse then you would need to start CPR and this is important because the person’s life is at stake. For an adult or child, place the heel of one hand on the center of the chest at the nipple line. You can also push with one hand on top of the other. For an infant, place two fingers on the breastbone. For an adult or child, press down about 2 inches. Make sure not to press on ribs. For an infant, press down about 1 and 1/2 inches. Make sure not to press on end of breastbone. Do 30 chest compressions, at the rate of 100 per minute or more. Let the chest rise completely between pushes. Once all the right procedures have been done, check again to see if the person had started breathing. And if they still are not breathing then repeat the procedure again. Whilst this is happening, make sure that the student is kept warm by removing wet clothing and keeping wrapped in blankets. A child that is always on their own, and have bruises on their wrist should be carefully investigated too, because a child would find it hard to trust anyone and also be scared that she may get in trouble so you would always have to reassure the child. To find out what exactly has happened to the child you would need to make her believe that she can trust you, and always reassure her that she is not in trouble. The first sign when you find out that the child is being neglected you would need to inform the staff members, and then call the social services when it is agreed that the child has been abuse and neglected. If the matter is very serious then the police would have to get involved and act what’s best for the child safety needs.