Accidents do happen, and when they happen, there are casualties. Even under adverse conditions, survivors must be rescued in any way possible. A recovery stretcher is one fundamental item that is handy during the rescue operation. How to remove the casualty from the scene depends on the location. If the casualty is on a higher position or upper floors, the casualty needs to find a way down, and if the casualty is held up in the floors below, then he or she needs to be hoisted up through holes on the floors. It also depends on the type of injuries the casualty sustained.
Rescuers must be aware that the lives of all casualties are paramount, and they should find a way of helping them find the right attention or medication no matter the type of injuries sustained. If the casualties require evacuation, arrangements must be made to evacuate them as soon as possible. Recovery stretchers play a critical role in moving casualties from the scene to the means of evacuation. After successful removal of the casualties, in the case of building tragedies, rescuers have to walk over debris carrying the casualty using a stretcher, and care must be taken to ensure that casualties do not sustain further injuries. Retrieval methods may vary depending on the situation. Rescuers often undergo training using life people as casualties to simulate the actual scene and build confidence in trainees and give them a general understanding that will guide them on the methods to use when the actual disaster happens.
Casualty classification
When a disaster happens, rescuers run to the scene as soon as possible. These rescuers must know how to differentiate different forms of injuries sustained. For example, there are three types of casualties; the walking injured, slightly injured and seriously injured. Walking injured means someone is injured but still has the capacity to walk. They should not be allowed to walk because they may have a certain degree of shock or might have internal injuries or casualties with small wounds or bleeding directly from the arteries. Casualties might have slight injuries on the head, but you cannot ascertain the extent of damages.
Slightly injured refers to those slight injuries but require further attention or immediate evacuation for further treatment. It may be due to serious shock or casualties with flesh wounds in their lower limb. Lastly, seriously injured refers to casualties that require immediate evacuation from the scene for further specialised treatment. These cases may be injuries sustained on the chest, internal hemorrhage, wounds on the stomach, crushed limbs and other complicated injuries that require immediate evacuation and treatment.
Common types of recovery stretchers available
There are two types of recovery stretchers, i.e. the folding stretcher and the basket one. In the case of a folding stretcher, it requires to unfasten the straps before laying the casualty on it, while basket stretchers have a basket shape with optional lashing patterns. The number of lashing patterns is determined by the casualty condition.
In conclusion, serious injuries will not be visible to the plain eye always or show obvious signs, and therefore, the casualty must undergo careful checks by the doctors and specialists. First aid training is the most fundamental skill everybody requires to become useful when disasters come knocking.
For delivery of Select’s recovery stretchers, check out their website on how to place an order.
