Page 8 - Heartsafe | Better. Hands Down.

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Introduction

Emergency Assessment Plan (EAP)

Scene Safety & Protection

Priority Assessment

Secondary Assessment

Ongoing Patient Care

Transfer to EMS
fig. 1-0

Scene Safety & Protection

First, take charge of the situation. Identify yourself to an injured person. If you are
a nurse, doctor or person trained in First Aid, say so. Call out for help and attract
attention to yourself. Identify the mechanism of injury and obtain a brief history of
the situation. Tell the patient not to move! Is the scene safe? How many people re-
quire help?

Your personal safety always comes first. Any attempt you make at rescuing some-
one should be a safe one. Assess for any actual or potential hazards to yourself,
your patient and bystanders. Look around. Do not focus only on the patient; take a
look at the big picture. There are many examples of danger to your safety. You
may have to open a window to ventilate a room, put on disposable gloves, discon-
nect electrical power, put a car in park or turn off the ignition. If you take your
time, assess the situation and formulate a plan you may prevent further injuries and
you will be much more effective until help arrives.

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