Public urged to avoid premature ‘death’ reports that may delay lifesaving help at crash scenes

Inaccurate reporting by members of the public as to the severity of accident victims’ injuries has raised major concerns for emergency personnel.

This refers specifically to a victim being reported as deceased before this has been verified.

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A case in point was a pedestrian who was knocked over on the N2 near Empangeni on Thursday morning.

On notifying emergency services, a member of the public reported the pedestrian as being deceased (blue code).

Upon arrival, however, paramedics who responded to the scene found the man alive, confused, and without any obvious injuries.

Paramedics stabilised him and transported him to the nearest hospital for further checks.

“Two small wrong words can cause a major delay. Saying ‘he’s dead’ might unintentionally delay critical care,” said Mounties EMS owner and paramedic Joe Kruger.

“The public needs to give us the correct information so we can respond correctly. If the person is not moving, rather report them as having unknown injuries, being seriously injured, or unresponsive. That way, EMS can prioritise correctly and everyone gets the help they need in time.”

Kruger also explained that if an accident victim is reported as deceased, and emergency services also receive reports of a person suffering chest pain, paramedics may prioritise the chest pain case unwittingly at the expensive of the person with life-threatening injuries, who could die as a result.

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