Scene safety and summoning help
This domain tests whether you can protect yourself, the casualty, and bystanders before and during first aid. The exam expects dynamic scene assessment, clear delegation, and an effective emergency call. Good first aid that creates a second casualty is failed first aid.
Core rules and concepts
- Assess before approaching. Look for traffic, unstable structures, fire, smoke, water, electricity, machinery, hazardous substances, and aggressive people. Reassess as the situation changes.
- Use personal protective equipment. Gloves are the minimum for body fluid contact. Add eye protection, apron, or mask where available and appropriate. Do not compromise safety to reach a casualty.
- Make the scene safe or withdraw. Switch off machinery if safe, stop traffic, clear bystanders, or move the casualty only if there is immediate danger that cannot be removed.
- Delegate specifically. Say “You in the blue jacket, call 999 now and tell me when connected” rather than “Someone call an ambulance.”
- Give clear information to emergency services. State your location with landmarks, the number of casualties, the nature of the incident, hazards, and a callback number. Do not hang up until told.
- Send for the AED and meet the ambulance. A named person should fetch the AED and another should guide responders to the scene.
- Consider lone working. Follow local policy, keep a phone accessible, and share location information.
Worked example
A cyclist is hit at a rural junction. The first aider parks safely, switches on hazard lights, and checks for traffic before approaching. They ask a bystander to call 999 and read out the junction name and postcode from a phone. Another bystander is sent to the nearby village hall to meet the ambulance. The first aider does not move the cyclist, who is breathing but confused. Reasoning: the scene is made safer first, help is summoned with precise location details, and movement is avoided because there is no immediate danger.
Traps that cost marks
- Rushing in without checking traffic or hazards.
- Giving vague directions such as “near the shops.”
- Using an unqualified bystander to perform a technique they have not been shown.
- Leaving the scene unsafe while treating a minor injury.
- Forgetting to send someone to meet and guide the ambulance.