Thanks to
Chris gives the day ’ s briefing and instructions
Scenario 1 : Lifesaving with complications
Along with the obvious rescue demands , there were secondary issues that in the heat of the moment may be overlooked . In one of the scenarios , a diver carried out a CBL ( Controlled Buoyant Lift ) on her buddy , Liea , who was sick underwater and subsequently unconscious at the surface ( after breathing contaminated gas ). All eyes were , naturally , on the unconscious diver , but other misfortunes awaited .
Two rescuers were told to land the casualty , and a bystander was told to go and telephone for an ambulance . “ I haven ’ t got a phone . Can I use yours and what do I say ?” was the reply . Full instructions were then issued . While all this was going on , the diver who gave the CBL , Debbie , disappeared behind some nearby rocks .
Liea was then replaced with a manikin for BLS ( Basic Life Support ), including the use of a practice AED ( automated external
The coxswain , knocked out cold
Basic life support defibrillator ). Putting all this together and breaking out the oxygen kit takes time , during which Liea miraculously started to regain consciousness . Coughing violently she asked : “ Where is Debbie , my buddy ?”
“ Oh no ... where is she ?” replied the rescue manager , and after a brief search Debbie was found ‘ unconscious ’ behind the rocks . She was carefully picked up and moved next to Liea in the recovery position , so they could both use the twin hoses and masks on the O2 kit . The exercise was brought to a close and a full de-brief was conducted by Adam , the instructor and prompter for that scenario .
Scenario 2 : RIB crash
The three students ’ direction cards told them they were going out for a dive from the RIB . In the boat along with the students were Ian ( the instructor for this scenario ) Nick ( actor ) and John ( cox ). In Chris ’ s original plan , the cox was to shout out and pretend that the RIB had struck submerged rocks and stop the boat . As the boat stopped suddenly , the cox would bang his head on the windscreen and Nick ( actor ) would be thrown overboard , hurting his arm on the rocks .
For Nick ’ s safety ( being in the water ) the engine would have to be stopped . As Chris had given out the plans to the actors two weeks previously , John was able to embellish the scenario plan , making the incident flow more realistically . He used a shot line with a buoy attached to simulate the rock , which meant he could pull the kill cord , lunge forward to ‘ bang ’ the windscreen , and at the same time slap fake blood over his face .
Hitting the buoy also gave Nick his cue to fall overboard without fear of getting in the way of the prop . The students then had two casualties , one of whom had to be recovered with a notional ‘ broken arm ’.
Scenario 3 : One unconscious , one missing
In the third scenario , Amelia ( actor ) was seen floating face-down in the water . After she was de-kitted and checked for signs of life , CPR was started , along with administering oxygen ( all done on a manikin ). After five minutes , this prompt rescue proved
successful and Amelia was brought back from the brink to ask , “ How is Colin ?”
“ Who is Colin ?” enquired one of the rescue team . “ My buddy !” Amelia replied . So immediately we had to update the Coastguard that there was a lost diver as well as the unresponsive on we had reported earlier . Included in the update was the fact that she had now come around and was fully responsive , but still needed to be checked out in hospital . Here the scenario was ended and a de-brief was carried out led by Michael , our Diving Officer .
All in all , this was a great weekend with lots of learning for students and actors alike . Some of our actors hadn ’ t yet reached that stage in their training , but still appreciated the importance of prompt and effective diver rescue techniques . The last thing we did was to inform the Coastguard that we had finished our exercise . We had informed them prior to the event , as we didn ’ t want a concerned bystander ringing them up telling them that there was a bloke on a RIB in the harbour with blood all over his face . �
Thanks to
Contaminated gas actors : Debbie and Liea Boat crash actors : Nick and John Lost diver actor : Amelia Bystander actors : Paula and Natalie Course Instructors : Michael , Adam , Ian and Chris H Helpers : Josh and Michael P Students : Jonny , Carl , Derek , Danny , Melissa , Jeff , Stephen
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