After an ambulance has been called, continue to perform CPR and maintain the safety of yourself, the patient and bystanders until the Ambulance Paramedics accept responsibility for them. Do not stop CPR when they arrive and continue to follow their instructions.
As part of your handover, you should provide a concise summary of relevant details known about the patient, the incident and any treatment provided, as this information aids further treatment decisions. An incident report can assist you with this. These are legal documents and may be required to be shown as evidence in a court of law.
Four useful components to document and hand over in cases of a patient requiring CPR:
- S – seen or not seen the cardiac arrest? Down-time pre-CPR is important and if seen, any potential cause for the arrest may be identified, e.g., drowning, sudden collapse, trauma, envenomation
- S – started CPR – what time did you start CPR? Important to know how long CPR has been going
- S – shockable or non-shockable – did the AED shock on the first rhythm check?
- S – shocks delivered – how many shocks have been delivered in total? This helps determine if they have remained in a non-shockable rhythm, or if they have gone in and out of shockable versus non-shockable rhythms.
The mnemonic IMIST AMBO is used by Paramedics in all States and can assist lifesavers in the delivery of a clear, concise and structured handover.
Information about the health of a patient must be kept confidential. Only authorised people, such as the patrol captain and club executive officers should be able to see it in relation to incident reporting and debriefing patrol members. Giving away personal information without the patient’s approval is unethical, and in some cases may not be permitted under the National Privacy Principals.
All lifesavers involved in a resuscitation incident should report to their patrol captain after the patient has been handed over to take part in a debrief. Refer to the Safety and Wellbeing module for more information on the importance of debriefing and mental health following a critical incident while on patrol.