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In pre-hospital emergency care, the initial management phase does not only revolve around the victim but also focuses heavily on the safety of the rescuer. This helps prevent “secondary injury”—where the rescuer becomes a new victim, complicating the situation and increasing the burden on rescue efforts.
Rescuer Safety: A Prerequisite Before Any Intervention
1. Prioritize Rescuer Safety According to fundamental safety principles, any activity involving approaching a victim must begin with an assessment of the scene hazards. The rescuer must evaluate whether the area contains threatening factors such as electricity, fire, smoke, chemicals, or sharp objects. If the hazard is not controlled, access is not permitted.
2. Identify and Eliminate Hazardous Factors Physical and environmental hazards are often the causes of secondary injuries. Therefore, eliminating or minimizing the risks (such as turning off electricity, moving away from a fire source, removing sharp objects, etc.) is a mandatory requirement before performing any intervention.
3. Activate the Emergency System Immediately upon assessing that the victim’s condition presents hard-to-access, life-threatening danger, one must immediately call the emergency system (113 – 114 – 115 in Vietnam). In many cases, guidance from specialized forces can determine the victim’s survival prognosis and the rescuer’s own safety.
Approaching the Victim: Prioritize Safety Before First Aid
1. Moving the Victim in a Hazardous Environment If the victim is in a high-risk area (fire, explosion, collapse risk, gas poisoning, etc.), immediate removal must be performed to protect their life before implementing further support measures.
2. Primary Survey This is the “Primary Survey” step, which includes checking vital signs, injury status, bleeding, or other critical manifestations. This forms the basis for deciding the appropriate first aid method.
First aid is not only an act of saving lives but also a process of risk management in an emergency context. Correctly applying safety principles is the decisive first step in management outcomes. In emergency medicine, effective intervention is never possible if initial safety is not ensured.
Consolidated by GHME
