Drill shows some weaknesses in Triage IMO

[Scaramedic]

So the drill is a bus roll over with a bunch of unbelted children in the bus.

Looking good!!!

Umm not so much. No collar and victims standing in said crashed bus. Also why are they coming in thru the 'top' since there is a nice door with victims waiting for rescue.

Holy crap! Did I mention this is a rollover!! Carrying a soon to be quad to the triage area. Other soon to be paraplegics still watching.

Now I know this is a drill but it seems to me someone wasn't working real hard to make it realistic. Or maybe the sad truth is, this is realistic. :wink:

[Chief1C]

Well.. you could explain to, going out the top, by taking out the most seriously injured, first.. and not wanting to step on the other children.

Or.. they could have been playing the "what if this happens, well, then we'll do it this way" game. Good way to practice.

No comment on the macho pics for the press.

[akroeze]

I hesitate to criticize based on photographs alone.

There was a pic of us at a tractor trailer roll-over that required 45 mins of extrication and the pick showed us WALKING her to the stretcher. What the picture doesn't show is that she crawled herself out and flat out refused to listen to us telling her to hold still.... she wanted out of the damn truck. To someone looking at the pics they would just assume we were idiots.

So I don't criticize based on pics whenever possible.

[AnthonyM83]

We were taught to forgo c-spine precautions for walking wounded initially in such a case. We specifically went over the rollover bus scenario and were told to call out all the walkiing wounded.

As far as not using the doors, I imagine that's to make it more difficult simulating a situation where doors aren't available, so that FD can practice their extrication which might be vital.

The guy on the board with no c-spine looks bad....might be an airway issue or otherwise labeled immediate extrication? Not sure...

[Dustdevil]

Is everybody in that department a captain, or did they just get a good deal on red helmets? :?

[Doug]

Were these from a drill you were participateing in? In an MCI some of the rules change for the greater benefit. C-spining everyone would be waste of time and resources. Though I do agree about using the door, open it and let the walking wounded (GREENS automatically under our triage system) out and out of the way.

[triemal04]

Don't forget what an MCI means; your resources are gone, fully committed, and you've got possible more people to deal with than you can handle. Triage in an MCI does not in any way mean that the normal level of care will be given.

I wasn't there, but just going off the scenario given, think of it like this: you've got a bus with 25 teenagers and 1 adult on it that just rolled over. You are assigned as the initial triage. The first 6 people you come to are complaining of various minor pains with no other associated problems. All are able to move out of your way so that you can assess the rest of the occupants. What do you do? Tell them to walk out of the bus to a safe zone where they'll get re-triaged and further assessed. That is standard across the board. You don't treat each and every person as you come to them; you treat the worst injured and then the less severe.

Far as not using the door...sure that's the easiest way, but it may not always be available. Best way to get access to a rolled school bus is through the roof, which it looks like they did.