Extrication of the seriously injured road crash victim

In any accident scene, rapid removal of the casualty to hospital improves their chances of survival. The term the "Golden Hour" was first introduced in 1961, but because of misinterpretation as to what period this actually referred to, a second concept, the "Platinum Ten Minutes" was proposed as the time taken to move a casualty to the ambulance. To achieve this rapid removal, the ambulance and medical personnel must work in harmony with the police and fire service to secure the scene and remove the casualty safely without causing injury either to the casualty or other personnel on the scene. Care should also be taken to preserve evidence at the scene for future investigation. This paper describes the role of the emergency services, in particular that of the fire officer in charge, when attending the scene of a road traffic accident. The methods and equipment used to extricate a casualty from a motor vehicle are explained.