RTC Scene Safety and CPR Application

 WGAM Meeting Report - 13th October 2026

Tess Cooper, an Examiner with IAM RoadSmart who previously served as a Sergeant and a Fast Response driver with West Midlands Police, discussed whether it is wise to stop at a road collision and, if you do, some of the many hazards you may not be aware of, which could make you a victim yourself.

Don’t stop on a motorway. Dial 999 and give your location as clearly as you can. If you know an EV is involved, tell them so that the fire service is aware. A modern phone may be able to provide your location. Position your vehicle so that it partially blocks the scene. Think about what may be lying on the ground or still in the air. Before leaving your vehicle, put on suitable protection: hi-vis, gloves, mask and any other protective clothing, and take a fire extinguisher. Dial 999 and ask for an ambulance unless you can be absolutely sure there are no casualties. The call handler is mirrored by a dispatcher, and they will talk you through triage. Keep your phone on speaker and do not hang up. Be as accurate as possible when giving the location of the collision. Put on your hazard lights, lock your vehicle and secure the key. Silent casualties are the ones most likely to need urgent attention. Do not put a casualty in your car. If a vehicle or a person does a ‘runner’, photograph them and the car. Stop anyone smoking. The police are likely to arrive first. Keep well clear as they approach, because they are unlikely to be driving slowly.

If you help seriously injured casualties and you are not a qualified first aider, you may have nightmares afterwards. If so, see your GP for help and guidance.

Paul Hatcher of the Vale of Evesham Community First Responders (VCFR) was our co-presenter. He began by explaining that volunteer first responders are trained to Level 3 by the NHS. When they are on duty, First Responders (FRs) are sent to Category 1 or 2 emergencies if an ambulance will take longer than ten minutes to reach the scene.

The idea of FRs started around 30 years ago. At that time training was very basic, and individuals used their own vehicles when on duty. With a growing population and rocketing demand on the emergency services, it was clearly time to provide proper training and the consumables needed to do the work. There are currently 600 FR volunteers in the West Midlands.

The Vale of Evesham Community First Responders (VCFR) is a fully registered charity, so it has to raise its own funds to pay for everything it needs. That includes defibrillators, vehicles, fuel, and servicing and maintaining those vehicles. To give an idea of the demand on its services, VCFR has attended 270 emergency (999) calls in the last three years.

Paul thought it important to explain that heart attacks and cardiac arrests are two very different things, and that it matters to be able to tell them apart.

A heart attack is the death of part of the heart muscle, and it causes pain. In women this can be back pain or pain between the shoulder blades; in men it is more often in the chest and down the left arm. Other symptoms can include clamminess, sweating, nausea, a raised heart rate and sometimes breathlessness. It is sometimes described as ‘anguish of the soul’: a sense of impending doom, a fear of dying. If you see these symptoms in someone, or have them yourself, dial 999, keep warm and do not eat anything. Tell the ambulance service it is breathlessness and chest pain.

Cardiac arrest: no breathing and no pulse. It may have been caused by an electric shock, so make sure the supply is isolated before you approach the patient.

Once that has been dealt with, open the person’s eyes and touch them to see if they react. Give their earlobe or the back of their neck a hard pinch. Check their breathing. Tilt the head back and look into the mouth to make sure the airway is clear. Shout for help, then dial 999 and ask for an ambulance, explaining the situation and the location. Stay on speakerphone.

The ambulance service will help by giving you the location of the nearest defibrillator and the code to unlock it. Send someone to fetch it and ask them to bring everything in the cabinet. If you are alone, it is better to start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), even if the defibrillator is very close.

To carry out CPR, kneel at right angles to the patient. The patient must be on a hard surface and below you, because you will be using gravity to help, and CPR is very tiring. Find the centre of the chest, between the nipples. Interlock the fingers of both hands and, using the heel of the lower hand, form a rigid triangle between your straight arms and your body. Press the chest down by 5 to 6 cm, which will be enough to break ribs. This is life or death, so don’t worry about causing injury. Aim for 120 compressions a minute; to help you keep the rhythm, use a song such as ‘Stayin’ Alive’. If other people arrive to help after you’ve sent someone for the defibrillator, show them how to take over from you, as this work is tiring in the extreme.

When the defibrillator arrives, if the patient is still not conscious and not breathing, use it. (While you are doing CPR, the patient may seem to make noises. This is air being forced out of the chest. You will be very aware when they become conscious.)

To use the defibrillator, uncover the patient’s chest and remove any metal jewellery and, if the patient is female, her bra, as any underwiring could cause a problem when the shock is given. Also check for patches on the body and remove them, as certain types of medical patch can explode. Place one pad below the right collarbone and the other on the left side, below the armpit. Make sure everyone, including you, is standing clear. Switch the device on and it will tell you what is about to happen. After the shock, go back to chest compressions. Don’t disconnect the machine, as it may advise further shocks.

For adults, pinching the nose and giving rescue breaths is no longer considered appropriate unless the patient is a close family member, in which case, tilt the head back slightly and pinch the nose when doing so. (If the patient is a child, do give 5 small breaths to every 30 compressions.)

A note passed on from Tess: if you are worried that you might be sued at some point after helping someone, the SARAH Act became law in England and Wales in 2015. The Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015 protects people who help others. Nobody has been successfully sued for reasonably giving first aid in good faith.

There is no doubt in my mind that our two presenters gave everyone who attended excellent advice and guidance on what to do if you unexpectedly come across an emergency.

Peter McCree