Module 1: Emergency Scene Management
Demonstrate an understanding of emergency scene management. This module aligns to Specific Outcome 1: AC1 personal safety, AC2 safeguarding the scene, AC3 safeguarding the injured person, AC4 medico-legal implications. Pages 7-12 of First Aid Learner Manual.
Emergency help with what you have – not medical treatment
First Aid is the initial, immediate care given to a person who is injured or suddenly ill, using readily available materials. It is not medical treatment. Medical treatment is treatment given by a doctor or under doctor supervision.
First Aid is the emergency help given to an injured or suddenly ill person using readily available materials. It is the first skilled assistance before medical help arrives. It is NOT a replacement for medical treatment.
A first aider does not diagnose, does not prescribe medication, and does not go beyond training. You act in good faith, to the best of your ability, with what you have.
- Preserve life – including your own, bystanders, and casualty
- Prevent the condition from worsening – stop bleeding, protect, keep stable
- Promote recovery – reassure, comfort, position, keep warm, arrange medical help
A first aider never creates a second casualty. If the scene is unsafe for you, you cannot help. Your safety comes first – always.
Taking charge calmly and ethically
A first aider takes charge calmly, identifies self, and gains consent. You act in good faith – meaning honestly, without expectation of reward, to help.
“My name is ___, I am a trained first aider. May I help you?”
- Conscious adult: ask for consent, respect refusal
- Child: consent from parent/guardian if present
- Unconscious / confused: implied consent – act in best interest
- If person says NO and is mentally capable and not in immediate life-threat you must respect – stay nearby, call help, do not force
Once you start caring, you must not leave the person alone without handing over to someone competent (another first aider, family, medical help) or ensuring help is on the way and scene is safe. Abandonment can worsen outcome and has medico-legal implications.
Emergency scene management starts before you touch the casualty. Scan, think, then act. If you become a casualty, you double the problem.
Personal safety: check hazards before you enter
Learner Manual p8 – You must identify and avoid 6 common hazard groups. Tick each as you assess a scene mentally.
Make the scene safe for everyone
- Control crowd: assign bystanders clear tasks – “You in yellow cap, please call ambulance 10177, You please keep dogs/children back”
- Be visible: hazard lights, reflective cloth, ask someone to wave traffic slowly. At night use torch/phone light.
- Protect from traffic: place warning triangle / bags 10m before if available, don't stand between casualty and traffic.
- Fire / Electricity: switch off ignition, remove fuel source if safe, no smoking. Call professionals.
- Weather: wind can fan fire, rain can cause hypothermia. Shield casualty, but do not move unless danger.
- Keep warm / Keep dry: blanket, jacket, newspaper over casualty (under and over if possible), keep head protected.
Protect the person from further harm
- Do not move unnecessarily – especially if fall from height, back pain, unconscious mechanism. Move only if life in danger at current position.
- Protect from cold/heat: place something soft under head where possible, cover, shade eyes from sun, keep away from fire.
- Protect dignity: crowd back, cover person, speak to them, explain, involve if conscious.
- Remove hazards around: broken bottles, sharp sticks, hot ash – not the person.
- Primary survey priority: after scene safe, check responsiveness, call help, ABCs – covered Module 3 but scene management enables it.
- Continual reassessment: stay with person, watch breathing, bleeding, shock signs, hand-over.
Moving can worsen spinal injury, fracture, bleeding. Only exception: airway blocked and can't manage in position, fire/flood/electricity imminent, need to reach CPR surface, traffic risk that cannot be controlled.
Medical help vs First Aid & your legal position
Treatment by a doctor or under supervision of a doctor. First Aid is NOT medical help. You assist, you do not treat as a clinician.
Ready materials, preserve life, no diagnosis
Doctor / supervised, medication, diagnosis, advanced care
- Duty to Respond: If you are employed as designated first aider, carer, HBC, you have duty to act within role while on duty. Failing to act may breach workplace policy.
- Good Samaritan: In SA, no general law forcing layperson to help stranger, but if you choose to help you must act in good faith, within training, not negligently, not beyond scope.
- Always: document, hand over, report, confidentiality (don't share photos/details on social media).
- Act in good faith, within training
- Consent, dignity, confidentiality
- Do not accept money / gifts for first aid – thank, decline politely
- Hand over, report, record
Scenario: Elderly man collapsed in park – drizzling, road nearby, crowd gathering, broken bottle
You are walking to work (07:30). You see ~8 people around a man (~70y) slumped near bench. He is breathing, confused. Ground wet, broken bottle 1m away. Traffic passes 3m away. It's drizzling, chilly. What do you do? Select correct actions A-F – correct are A, D, E. Then write your motivation.
A – Personal safety first: scan traffic (moving cars 3m), broken glass (1m), wet/slip, unstable crowd. If unsafe you become casualty – Golden Rule.
D – Safeguarding scene: delegate – 10177 call with exact location (park name, bench near road), traffic control, visibility, crowd control reduces anxiety, keeps airway clear, prevents theft/secondary injury. Keep warm – drizzling, risk hypothermia, cover over/under if possible using jacket/newspaper.
E – Safeguarding person: consent script, reassurance, stay, dignity, do not move unless life-threat (wet is not life-threat, cover instead), no food/drink/meds out of scope, watch breathing, hand over to EMS/family with report: time found, behaviour, confusion, surrounding hazards, actions taken.
Not B – moving risks spinal/fracture worsening, wet alone not enough to justify move.
Not C – abandonment, unethical, delay.
Not F – medication out of scope, no diagnosis, could harm, medico-legal breach.
Know your limits
- •You do NOT diagnose, prescribe, give medication, realign bones, or remove impaled objects.
- •You DO protect, reassure, call help, control bleeding with pressure (later modules), keep warm, hand over.
- Red flags needing urgent medical help: unconscious, not breathing normally, heavy bleeding, chest pain, stroke signs, severe burns, anaphylaxis.
- Scene red flags: downed power lines, gas smell, gunfire or fighting, collapsing building, fast traffic – do not enter, cordon, call specialists.
Situation: What happened, where, when
Background: Who, age approx, medical info if known, what you saw
Actions: What you did, time, response
Recommendation: Stay until they take over, give your name/contact for statement if asked
Your notes – Emergency Scene Management
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