LO13 Triage/MCI Flashcards
Critical infrastructure:
electrical power grid, communications system, fuel for vehicles, water, sewage removal, food, hospitals and transportation systems
Open incident
has a number of candidates not found yet when you answer the initial call
Closed incident
contained incident in which patients are found in one location and the situation is not expected to produce more patients
Freelancing
in which individual units or different organizations make independent and often insufficient decisions about the next appropriate action
Span of control
the number of resources for which a supervisor is responsible usually expressed as a ratio of supervisors to responders the optimal span of control is 1: 5
to you maintain effective communication limit the number of subordinates to 3 to 7
ICS Roles and Responsibilities
At minimum the command staff include someone in charge known as the incident commander
In larger incidents as a position such a safety officer in public information officer’s are included
The general staff includes operation, planning, logistics and finance/administration sections
Incident commander
is the person in charge of the overall incident
command staff
safety officer
public information officer
liaison officer
Safety officer
monitors the scene for conditions or operations that may be present a hazard to responders and patients
Public information officer:
provides the public and media was clear and understandable information
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Positioned well away from incident command post
Liaison officer
relays information and concerns among command, the general staff and other agencies
Unified command system:
plans are drawn up in advance by all cooperating agencies that assume a shared responsibility for decision-making and cooperation
Single command system
one person in charge and is generally used with small incidents that involve only one responding agency
Operations section and chief
Responsible for managing the tactical operations job usually handled by the incident commander on routine calls
Operation section chief: supervise the people working at the scene of the incident who will be assigned to branches divisions in groups
Planning section
Solves problems as they arise during the MCI
Planners obtain data about the problem analyze the previous incident plan and predict what or who is needed to make the new plan work
Buyers need to work closely with operations, finance and logistics
Logistics
Responsible for communications equipment, facilities, food and water, fuel, lighting and medical equipment and supplies for patient emergency responders
Finance
Responsible for documenting all expenditures at an incident for tracking and reimbursement
Medical incident command
Incidents that have a significant medical factor the IC should appoint someone to be leader this person will supervise the primary roles of the medical group triage, treatment and transport
Triage officer
ultimately in charge of counting and prioritizing patients the primary duty is to ensure that every patient receives initial assessment of her condition
one of the most difficult parts of being a triage officers that you may not begin standard treatment until all patients are triaged
Treatment officer
locate and set up the treatment area with a tear for each priority of patient they ensure that secondary triage patient is performed in that adequate prehospital care is given
Have a responsibility to assist with moving patients to the transportation area
Transportation officer:
Coordinates of transportation and distribution of patients to appropriate receiving hospitals he role of the transportation officers to communicate with the area hospitals to determine where to transport patients
Documents attracts the member of vehicles transporting, patient transported and the facility Destiination of each vehicle and patient
Staging officer
should be assigned when MCI’s or scenes require response by numerous emergency vehicles or agencies
Staging area should be established away from the scene because the parked vehicles can be in the way
Physicians on scene
Provide secondary triage decisions in treatment sector deciding which patients are to be transported first
On scene medical direction
Triage
Means to sort patients based on severity of their injuries and prioritize them for care
Primary triage
the initial triage done in the prehospital environment
Briefly assessed and identified in someway such as a triage tag
Secondary triage
done as patients are brought to the treatment area
After the primary triage the team leader should communicate the following information to the medical group leader:
The total number of patients
The number of patients in each of the triage categories
Recommendations for extrication and movement of patients to the treatment area
Resources needed to complete triage and begin movement of patients
Triage categories
Immediate red tags: problems with ABCs, head trauma or signs of shock
Delayed yellow: patients are second priority and will need treatment and transport but it can be delayed multiple injuries to bones or joints
Minimal green tag: third priority patients may require no prehospital or minimal treatment
Expectant Black tag: patients who are dead or who’s injuries are so severe that they have at best a minimal chance of survival
START Triage
perform arrival at scene calling out if you can hear my voice and are able to walk then direct patient
Move to the first non-ambulatory patient and assess respiratory status
Assess hemodynamic status: check for radial pulse
Assess the patient’s neurological status if they can follow commands is yellow if no red
START Triage resp status
if the patient is not breathing you should open the airway by using a simple maneuver
a patient who still does not begin to breathe is triaged as black
if the patient begins to breathe tag them as red
If the patient is breathing a quick estimation of respirate should be made a patient who is breathing faster than 30 breathes/min is triaged as red
if the patient is breathing fewer than 30 move to the next step
START triage hemodynamic status
Absent radial pulse implies hypotension and should be triaged as read
Radio pulses present go to the next assessment
jumpSTART triage for pediatric patients
Intended for children younger than eight years or who appear to weight less than 45kg
Identify the walking wounded
asses resp status
pulse check Check for Distal pulse if there is an absence of a distal pulses label as red
mental status
jumpSTART triage for pediatric patients Respiratory status
If not breathing immediately check pulse if no pulse label Black
It’s not breathing but has a pulse open the airway with a manual maneuver
if the patient does not begin to breathe café rescue breaths and check respirations again
Child who does not begin to breathe should be labelled expectant
Breathing less than 15 breaths per minute or more than 45 breaths per minute is tagged as red
jumpSTART triage for pediatric patients mental status
A child who is unresponsive or response to pain by posturing or within incomprehensible sounds or unable to localized pain is red
A child who responds to pain by localizing in a withdrawing from it is yellow
SALT Triage
Sort assess lifesaving interventions and treatment
Identify the patients who are ambulatory
Allows for limited rapid interventions including bleeding control, open the airway, needle decompression and auto injector
