Complaints against officers

[Fedster + 1,307]

Officer loses leg in crash but able to pass on vital skills of improvising medical kit.

Building up strength: PC Tom Dorman back in the gym

Date - 28th October 2018
By - Nick Hudson - Police Oracle

2 Comments

 

An officer who lost his left leg when he was hit by a car on duty is calling on chiefs to spread awareness of how to use a tourniquet – to help save more lives.

PC Tom Dorman is spearheading a campaign to chief constables throughout England and Wales for officers to be encouraged to carry the medical accessory with them at all times.

The Thames Valley officer says tourniquets should be included as part of police safety training.

Without the personal knowledge of being able to tell passers-by who offered to help how to stop him bleeding to death he wouldn’t now be here to tell the cautionary tale, he believes.

He said: “The only reason I’m still alive is down to the fact I could direct members of the public and officers in how to improvise a tourniquet.

“I feel that as a basic level of first aid training, tourniquets should be included, even if it’s just an overview of them and how to improvise.

“This is why I am campaigning to raise awareness and training, spreading the importance of knowing how to use a tourniquet.”

Calling for officers to carry personal issue tourniquets at all times, PC Dorman is building up study history of tourniquet usage within forces to present as evidence to policing leaders of the need to reform practice.

PC Dorman is convalescing back home after a 32-day stay in hospital where he had his leg amputated following suffering appalling injuries in a car crash in Maidenhead, Berkshire on September 2.

He had got out of an unmarked police car to speak to a motorist when a Ford Focus slammed into him and both of the stationary vehicles. A teenage girl suffered serious injuries and another police officer was also hurt.

The early-morning collision brought people from their homes to his aid.

“I found the resolve to talk to members of the public to instruct one on how to make an improvised tourniquet,” he said.

“I think they used a belt and another a jumper to try to stop the flow of blood and give me more time. I am very thankful to them, all the people who came out, and my colleagues who arrived at the scene, who all saved my life.”

Discharged from hospital earlier this month after four operations, he is undergoing physiotherapy to learn to walk. The keen snowboarder hopes he can be fitted with a prosthetic leg and one day even return to the slopes.

Looking ahead he has aspirations to return to frontline policing “within a year”.

Two men, both aged 24, arrested for dangerous driving in connection with the crash, have been released under investigation.

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[SimonT + 1,185]

Hard to disagree. 

Our first aid course does cover cpr and choking, but also how to put on a sling etc

I would much prefer it focus on managing serious trauma from a first on scene perspective. What can I do to stop this person dying in the next ten minutes. 

[Zulu 22 + 4,569]

While I agree to the sentiments, there is a limit to how much, and which equipment to carry. Our first aid training clearly taught the rudiments of Breathing,  and bleeding. The use of CPR and also how to stop bleeding with direct pressure and/or a tourniquet. A Tourniquet can be improvised from virtually anything, belt, Tie, Boot laces, and the use of an improvised T bar, baton, pen even cuffs.  The action that we can and sometime do take is purely basic first aid to maintain, breathing, heart beat, and bleeding.  I( cannot remember an occasion when the Paramedics or more expert advice was far away.

I hope that Tom Dorman receives the full back up that he needs from both management and federation. I can fully recommend  the Police Convalescent Homes to him and wish him well in his recovery.

[Tempo + 69]

While not issued by my force I personally have a Tourniquet on me for my personal use, worst comes to worst I know that if needed it is there and one day could safe my life. 

From my understanding I believe Devon and Cornwall recently started implementing tourniquet training in their first aid refreshers and issuing them to officers after a nasty incident where a officer suffered a terrible injury when attacked by a male with a circular saw, fast actions from a colleague who used their own hands to stem the catastrophic bleed with their own hands probably saved the officers life that day.

Completely agree with PC DORMAN here and wish him all the best going forward.

[Ether + 1,391]

Sensible, all officers should have FFD’s, tourniquets and hemostatic dressings. All very simple to use and proven to by life saving countless times with minimal training.   

[obsidian_eclipse + 1,202]

In our first aid we were told we must never administer a tourniquet, improvised or not.

[Straker + 5]

How long ago was your training? On the emergency services side that went out over 5 years ago on the ambulance and police medic side of things.

The standards for the "lay person" First Aid At Work have changed within the last year or so to make training on using tourniquets optional for at least 2 of the national accreditation bodies. They were already allowed to be taught to high risk groups (forestry workers being the example used in the syllabus I have read.) 

 

[Growley + 2,436]

While I agree to the sentiments, there is a limit to how much, and which equipment to carry.

Just about any officer has room for a tourniquet. They're small and can be tucked away easily.

[Zulu 22 + 4,569]

All of our vehicles carried first aid kits which contained items that you could easily utilise.

[Ether + 1,391]

2 hours ago, obsidian_eclipse said:

In our first aid we were told we must never administer a tourniquet, improvised or not.

How can anyone be told never to use a tourniquet

[MajorDisaster + 579]

1 hour ago, Funkywingnut said:

How can anyone be told never to use a tourniquet

It used to be the advice, even in military first aid [in the 80s].  Then came proper battlefield first aid seeping through from Op Corporate [Falklands] and Op Granby [Gulf 1].  By the time we went to back to Afghanistan and Iraq we had decent battlefield triage and treatment.  Tourniquets are a lifesaver - the person may lose the rest of the limb but they'll at least live enough to sue you for it [that's a joke....sort of].  We have had training but they are not issued except to ARV who are trauma trained and carry defibs and trauma packs.  I have my own, ordered from amazon.

[Inbtsiyp + 347]

Met have tourniquets in first aid kits in cars. ARV officers have personal issue and spares in trauma packs. Interestingly the designs are different and the personal issue one is better designed for self application.

 

Tourniquet training now forms a basic part of the annual emergency life support refresher. Individual issue across the board is being considered. There is also talk of pain relief drugs being issued to certain officers. I can’t remember what the name was that was mentioned now, I am pretty sure it I not morphine but it would be delivered in the same way that morphine is for soldiers on battlefield in the auto injectors.

 

 

 

[obsidian_eclipse + 1,202]

How long ago was your training? On the emergency services side that went out over 5 years ago on the ambulance and police medic side of things.
The standards for the "lay person" First Aid At Work have changed within the last year or so to make training on using tourniquets optional for at least 2 of the national accreditation bodies. They were already allowed to be taught to high risk groups (forestry workers being the example used in the syllabus I have read.) 
 

11 months ago. We were told there are no circumstances we should use one and should rely on either direct or indirect pressure accordingly. The same topic has come up for 12 years and we have always been told that.

When someones missing a limb I can't see how using one could really make things worse but it's what we've been taught.

[Sceptre + 2,699]

10 hours ago, obsidian_eclipse said:

11 months ago. We were told there are no circumstances we should use one and should rely on either direct or indirect pressure accordingly. The same topic has come up for 12 years and we have always been told that.

When someones missing a limb I can't see how using one could really make things worse but it's what we've been taught.

That just shows you how far behind the times police first aid training or perhaps your trainers' professional knowledge is. The European Resuscitation Council recognised the value of tourniquets and haemostatic dressings in the 2015 guidelines, for a source click the "first aid for trauma emergencies" tab here.

As for improvising one out of bandages and pens that would be almost completely ineffective as they'd just break, and the chances of an amateur not being able to get it right would be quite high. If they're going to be taught then proper ones should be issued, along with high quality wound dressings.

[JulietAlpha1 + 515]

The Met first aid kits are far more substantial than the county force I’m in now and I feel that the Met’s training is more relevant. Our first aid training after the Manchester Arena bombing was scenario based looking at traumatic injuries, treating numerous victims until help arrived etc. It wasn’t perfect by any stretch but the trainers had clearly tried. We also did tourniquet training before I left but they hadn’t been issued.

The first aid kits where I am now are those little plastic boxes that are no good for anything except a minor scrape. The training is standard death by PowerPoint and some CPR exercises and nothing mentioned of tourniquets.

Can anybody send me a list of the contents of a Met first aid kit please? PM is you want. I’d like to compare it to what I have available to me now.