PRM Scenerios

[tiewrapdiver]

Hi guys,

I'm teaching the first lecture for the BSAC PRM course on tues and i'm doing a written exercise on two scenerios, the first one is looking at how it could've been avoid from the start, the second being how they would manage the incident. I've got my 'model' answers but thought it would be good to get a wider opinion incoporating experience and the different angles from the other agencies. So here goes, sorry its a long message. The scenerios are stolen directly from BSAC :

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Scenerio 1 - Looking at avoiding the incident before it happens

Dive Leader training wa taking place in 15m of water from an inflatable boat seom 2 miles from the launch site. A pair of divers comprising of a trainee DL (ie Sports diver) and a Dive Leader was in the water.

During the dive in which the Sports Diver's new mask kept flooding, the Dive Leader signalled to ascend. The Sports Diver had trouble using his BC controls and the Dive Leader attempted to control the ascent. With the flooding mask the Sports Diver was unable to see clearly what the Dive Leader was doing and in the resulting confusion the Sports Diver's demand valve was knocked out of his mouth and seawater inspired. The casualty lost consciousness just below the surface. The Dive Leader successfully raised the Sports Diver to the surface, but he was found to be not breathing.


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Scenerio 2 - Steps to manage the rescue/incident

Diving was being carried out from a hard boat, with an inflatable as a pick-up boat, some 6miles from harbour on a wreck in 22m of water. 4 pairs of divers entered the water staggered over a period of 10mins. Early on in the dive a diver suffered a rapid loss of air due to an apparent rupture of a hose. Underwater visibility was 12m and her buddy was just on the edge of visibility. She carried out a free ascent to the surface without a problem. Her buddy, on seeing that there was a problem, surfaced normally. Shortly after surfacing the casualty suffered joint pains in the right shoulder and minor numbness of the fingers of the right hand. Two pairs of divers remained in the water.


Tim

[garethwoodruff]

Scenario 1

Not sure how it happened, you could say that as it was a new mask the sportie should have had a spare mask, and the new mask should have been tried out in the pool first. A pony cylinder may have helped, if the regulator was easily accessible. Better practice with skills without a mask, such as mask clearing to give the diver some more confidence would also have helped, good skills practice in general might have stopped this. This is the incident pit in action!

I would question how likely with 2 experience divers this would happen, but I'm sure now I've said that 47 people will tell me of how it hapened to them.

Scenario 2

Put the casualty on 02, Nitrox if 02 unavailable.

Monitor the buddy.

Nominate someone to wrtie down time out of water, time on 02 etc...

Inform the Hard Boat what was happening.

Inform the Coastguard.

If you have a diver recall signal, use it.

If the coastguard decide a chopper is not an option, then as you have 2 divers left in the water, transfer the casualty and buddy to the hard boat and leave the Inflatable to pick up the 2 divers, the inflatable should be able to catch up without too much difficulty and might get a mile closer to shore, before being recovered. It would abviously depend on type of boats etc... the important thing to realise if you have 2 boats and therefore lots of options....

Just a few quick thoughts, oh and prepare to fill out all 4 pages for the BSAC incident report

[Digger]

F*ck em. If they were better f'in divers it wouldn't have f'in happened. I'd liek to see you get that in somewhere, simply because it's true in the case of all diving incidents. That we've seen so far, anyway.

Scenario one repventable by carrying a backup mask (working on the basis of never taking a new bit of kit to cover another new bit of kit, the old mask would be easily accesible), and by having a reg necklaced where it is easy to reach and clear in the even tof a primary going. Not BSAC answers, but solves the problem. Might be worth getting them to think about equipment configuration as a solution to simple avoidable problems. Sports divers should be able to ascend with a buddy without a mask on. The dive leader should have been more switched on to resuce skills and been able to CBL the sport diver effectively.

Don't have time to cover scenario 2, got to go to work. Other than you should have a recall signal for the other divers.

Good luck with the course.

Digs.

[vid]

Originally Posted by tiewrapdiver

Looking at avoiding the incident before it happens

a couple of pence worth

Risk assessment -

the location shouldn't have contributed to the incident, assuming this is a SD with suitable expereince - especially as a DL trainee

equipment - three issues, (1) new mask should be tried in a more sutiable environment ie pool (2) the use of the BC controls should not have been a problem - we train to use the kit without a mask on - equipment familiarisation for yourself (and buddy?) is a primary issue (3) why was the reg knocked out - was the configuarion suitable?

dive skills / practice - three issues (1) the dive should have been aborted as soon as this became a problem (2) SD should be able to mask clear continuosly whilst ascending - this skill should be second nature (3) was the DL's CBL skills up to date (eg approach and carry out from the rear)

vid

[Paul Beal]

Tim,

It is amazing what groups come up with when I run these exercises. I would be prepared to comment of a wide range of things which usually biold down to risk assessment and practice!

I generally split the group into 2 and give them one incident at a time. I get one group to comment on how it could be prevented and one to comment on what should be done now. I generally cover around 2/3 incidents depending on time.

Paul