Emergency Procedures Within a workplace, there should be well-defined emergency procedures. Your employer is obliged to establish these procedures, and to ensure that you are aware of them and have the appropriate training to implement the procedures, within your area of responsibility. This is required as part of compliance with occupational health and safety legislation. – Refer to Chapter 1 Outdoor Ed Policies and Procedures General Steps to be followed: – Evaluate the emergency – Develop a plan of action – Control the emergency – Debrief the emergency

Evaluate the Emergency Short-term evaluation Once you have a clear indication of what the emergency situation is, what hazards exist and how the situation could develop, you are in a position (if it is safe to do so) to: assess injuries and provide assistance where possible, after calling for emergency backup.

Develop a Plan of Action 1.Identify Response Options Consider: sources of emergency response instructions, which would guide your options. These include: – Workplace Policies and Procedures (refer to Chapter 1) – verbal commands from supervisors or other authorities (eg, police) – Occupational health and safety requirements Consider: situational variables such as: – capabilities of the group/clients / weather conditions/ topography – time frame for survival/ human resources/ equipment – other time factors (eg, time for emergency service personnel to arrive, time to get help) – available food and water/ size of search area (where applicable) – time of day/ communications facilities and difficulties – emotional and physical condition of the clients/group

Develop a Plan of Action (cont.) 2.The “Appreciation” action plan – Determine the aim (this will identify the problem and state what is to be achieved) – Examine relevant factors (a factor is a piece of information which can affect the plan) – Determine the courses of action open to you – Select the best course of action – Formulate the plan – Execute the plan.

Implementation of the Action Plan Use protective equipment when dealing with an emergency You may need to contact emergency services Accident/ Injury management procudere Appointment of leader – to coordinate the management of the emergency Safety of rescuers and uninjured is most important – may need to move injured out of danger zone Priority of urgent first aid is Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Deadly breathing, Exposure If circumstances require an alteration in the course of action, a contingency plan should be followed

Recording and Documentation Each organisation may have specific requirements with respect to the recording and reporting of an accident/emergency. Generally, there will be an accident/incident report form that you will be required to complete.

Debrief the Emergency Why debrief? – review the causes of the emergency – review the response and determine improvements to response process, equipment and other resources – determine the need for professional counselling for stress. Review and modification – Once the ‘dust has settled’, an organisation should conduct a review of an incident to evaluate the effectiveness of the response procedures, to identify ways of improving safety procedures to become more effective at reducing risks.