08.06.17
RCN offers NHS staff guidance to deal with future emergency incidents
Guidance has been offered to nurses and other NHS staff on how to respond in emergency incidents such as the multiple terrorist attacks that have hit the UK over the last few months.
It comes after the Manchester attack on Monday 22 May as well as the more recent London Bridge incident that happened last Saturday evening. In that attack, one of the eight victims was named as Kirsty Boden, a nurse who reportedly ran towards danger to help people in need.
But the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has now stated that if staff find themselves in a life-threatening situation, their first reaction should be to ensure their own safety before thinking of others.
“As a nurse or midwife, your first instinct is often to go to the aid of others in need,” the RCN’s statement said. “However, it is important that if you find yourself in an unclear situation you follow official government guidance.
“It is essential that you first assess your environment and ensure it is safe for you. If it is not, you should move to a place of safety.”
Staff were then advised to ensure that somebody, themselves or someone around them, had contacted the emergency services. It’s only after this has happened that the nurse should start administering care to others.
“There is no expectation that a nurse or midwife will put their own safety at risk,” the RCN’s guidance continued. “The NMC Code makes it clear that nurses and midwives must take account of their own safety, the safety of others and the availability of other options for providing care (this may include paramedics, ambulance crews or military personal on the scene of an incident or emergency).
“You may be able to help or assist in this type of situation but you should always follow the advice of the emergency services at the scene of an incident or emergency and find a place of safety if told to do so.”
The statement concluded by reminding staff to deliver any type of care only within their own limits of knowledge and competence. “It is acknowledged that not all nurses are qualified first aiders but they may be able to support other members of the emergency services or those injured or distressed in other ways,” the RCN added.
Top Image: NurPhotos/ SIPA
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