What to do if an accident happens

If an accident happens you should:

Save the person if he or she is in the water
Call for nearby help and contact the health care
Examine the injured and start first aid if necessary
Call 112
Inform your employer and boss

Remember:

There might be internal injuries and the person could suffer from shock
You might be in danger yourself, for instance if there is a lack of oxygen

First aid

• Check heart rate and breathing – begin CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) if necessary

• Examine the entire body

Other types of injuries

Drowning

If someone is drowning you should call out for help and call 112. Then try to save the person from the water. If the person isn’t breathing you should perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) while waiting for the ambulance.

To do list:

Call out for help. Call 112 or instruct someone else to do it.

Get the person out of the water.Få upp personen ur vattnet.

A person who is drowning can easily pull you under the water.

See if you can throw something towards the person to hold on to, preferably a lifebuoy or oar.

If you need to swim out to the person drowning, bring a floatation device for both of you. If could be a lifebuoy, floating toy or anything nearby, like a branch or jacket. If could serve as a floatation aid to bring the person ashore.

If the person is non-responsive you could start mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while in the water even. Blow two quick, shallow breaths into the mouth while holding the person’s nose.

It is often easiest to do backstrokes towards land, because you could keep the person’s head over the water line more easily.

Examine the person
Place the person down on the back. If you see something stuck in the person’s mouth you could gently twist the head to the side and remove it with your fingers. Check to see if the person is breathing is showing life signs by observing:

Are the chest and stomach moving.
Listen and check if air is flowing in and out through the nose and mouth by placing you ear close to the person’s nose or mouth.
Check whether the person is responding when you talk, or if the person is moving or swallowing.

If there is no life signs
If the person is breathing abnormally or not att all, has greyish complexion ans feels heavy and limp you should start CPR immediately and not stop until the paramedics arrive and can take over. If there are several of you , you could take turns performing CPR. Do not be afraid the start CPR. It is better to do something than nothing.

If the person is breathing and the heart is beating
Place the person in the recovery position. Try to calm the person.
A person who almost drowned gets often hypothermia. If possible keep the person try and keep him or her from hypothermia using towels or clothes. Stay with the person until the ambulance arrives. Even if the person seems ok and is breathing fine, he or she has to go to the hospital.

Treatment
At the hospital the person might be admitted to intensive care to treat the injuries sustained from the accident. Varies functions like the breathing and the heart is monitored carefully.

Hypothermia

When the body temperature drops below 25 degrees Centigrade, the person suffers from hypothermia. Hypothermia can be a dangerous condition. The cooling effect is severe in water, the body loses energy 25 times faster in water than in air. If you find a person suffering from hypothermia you should call 122 immediately.

Due to the risk of cardiac arrest during hypothermia you should place the person on the back while changing or removing wet clothes or transporting the person. You can cut wet clothes with a pair of scissors. To stop further cooling try to insulate the person using blankets, sleeping bags, dry clothes or special equipment for hypothermia. If possible try to insulate each limb individually. Do not forget a beanie and protection from could surfaces. If the person is unconscious place him or her in the recovery position. Check the breathing often.

In freezing water you have ten minutes at the most. After that hands and fingers are completely numb and useless, the judgement and power of thought is affected. After about half an hour you are so hypothermic that you get unconscious.

After the visit to the doctor

After the visit to the doctor you shall:

Ascertain that the accident is reported to the company with correct information
Ascertain that the report of injury is sent
Follow up by revisiting the doctor or health center after a week, and also a few months later. It is important to follow up so that permanent effects and injuries not noticed at first can be discovered.
Start the psychological process fast.
Visit the workplace soon after the accident to minimise the anxiety and fear.
Contact the health care if new symptoms arise.