Whose decision?

[Janos]

Following on from Mark's thread about the December 2006 incident, here's a hypothetical scenario.

Consider a YD "organised" gig. The people on board know each other reasonably well online, but not so well face-to-face. Unfortunately there is an incident, and a diver has a rapid ascent and misses some stops [1]. They are recovered into their boat.

Who decides whether the coastguard should be called?

1) The casualty
2) The casualty's buddy
3) The skipper
4) The person who booked the boat / started the thread
5) The most highly rescue qualified diver there (in medical / rescue terms)
6) If just one diver present says the Coastguard should be called, they should be called
7) If just one diver present says the Coastguard shouldn't be called, they shouldn't be called
8) It should be a free vote of everyone present

Janos

[1] - I think the amount of stops is irrelevant to this discussion. It could be one minute - it could be one hour.

[triplefin]

Its an interesting question Janos which I noted in your earlier post in the other thread. In many cases I have found it is actually the skipper who makes the decision and in some cases they will put in an early call to the coastguard to be on stand by if you are over due back up from a dive.
Personally I think it should be the most highly qualified rescue person there but that should generally be backed up by the opinions of everyone else.

[thehappychappy]

Skipper or Buddy or Casualty or whoever is medically responsible.
Didn't quite have that option so I voted if one person says.

I don't mean if one person who doesn't have a clue says, Basically whoever is in charge of the rescue, casualty should be managing / coordinating the care.


Davie

[scuba steve irl]

everyone in the team is there for a reason so everyone has a voice. basic training says make the call .

alway rember the basics .

maybe some should go back to basic and im not pickin a fight

[Janos]

Originally Posted by thehappychappy

Skipper or Buddy or Casualty or whoever is medically responsible.
Didn't quite have that option so I voted if one person says.

I don't mean if one person who doesn't have a clue says, Basically whoever is in charge of the rescue, casualty should be managing / coordinating the care.

I guess my question is how do you decide who is managing the rescue?

Janos

[GLOC]

Originally Posted by thehappychappy

Skipper or Buddy or Casualty or whoever is medically responsible.
Didn't quite have that option so I voted if one person says.

I don't mean if one person who doesn't have a clue says, Basically whoever is in charge of the rescue, casualty should be managing / coordinating the care.


Davie

This, I think is the issue. Who takes charge of the incident and coordinates things?

[frosty the snowman]

My vote is for calling the coastguard if only one person wants to. Simply reporting an abnormal ascent won't necessarily result in instant helicopter evacuation! It's better to report early and let the coastguard call the shots according to how events unfold.

[Janos]

PS - Can one of the Mods change the title of the thread to "Whose decision?" before the Pedant's [1] lynch me.

J


[1] - Joke

[Jenkins]

I think that if any one person (who has a resonable level of medical knowledge) or the casualty themselves thinks assistance is required you should go with their decision - better to err on the side of caution.

[RogerViking]

i wouldent be on a boat without a skiper clued into diving...but i supose its a matter of the day.