How paramedics respond to a car accident | Monash University

Introduction - Hello, my name's Brian Haskins. I'm a paramedic lecturer at Monash University. Today, we're going to show you a trauma scenario where our third-year paramedics are going to assess a patient, stop catastrophic bleeding, and extricate them from a car. When paramedics first arrive on a scene of a motor vehicle accident, the first thing they check for is dangers. Then they check responsiveness of the patient. If there's any catastrophic bleeding, they need to stop that immediately because the simple principle that blood inside the body is better than blood outside the body. So in this scenario, they're going to use a tourniquet quickly to stop the catastrophic bleeding. Stop catastrophic bleeding While they're assessing the catastrophic bleeding and stopping it, another paramedic is holding the patient's neck still while a third is putting on a C-collar to make sure that neck does not move. It's important to support the neck as there may be an unstable fracture and any movement could cause the patient to be paralysed. So by holding the back of their head, we're avoiding any unnecessary movement. Once the catastrophic bleeding has been stopped, the paramedic is now going to assess the patient's airway, breathing, and circulation, look for deformity, and expose the patient to see can they find any other injuries. They've discovered that the patient Unstable neck fracture has an unstable neck fracture, so they've asked the fire department to remove the doors and the roof so they can have easy access to remove the patient. The Monash simulation vehicle is new last year and it joins a fleet of ambulances that we have to provide realistic simulation for our students. Removing the patient This car allows us to take off the doors, the pillars, and the roof, allowing the students to experience what a real cutdown car would be like after the jaws of life have been used by the fire department. It's important to have easy access to the patient to take them out of the car as this will enable us to protect their spine and their neck from further injury. As you can see, the paramedic students are removing the patient carefully from the car onto the back board without moving the patient's spine or neck to prevent further injury. Backboard removal The patient's now in a backboard and is moved onto the stretcher. Once on the stretcher and in the ambulance, they will remove the backboard to protect the patient's spine from any further damage. The trauma extrication simulation vehicle allows us to repeat these simulations again and again, allowing all our students to experience what it's like to do a real extrication and be job-ready for their careers. Outro I hope you enjoyed our trauma scenario here at Monash University. If you think paramedicine could be a career for you, we hope to see you join us next year.