Respond to a collapse in the waiting room

What is going on

The annual medical emergency drill is run as a realistic scenario. At 1:05 pm a 68-year-old man waiting for a flu vaccine slumps in his chair, does not respond to his name and is not breathing normally. The waiting room holds eleven other patients including two children. The Clinical Nurse Manager is in treatment room 1 with a patient, two general practitioners are consulting and the Principal Dentist is mid-procedure. You are the first staff member to reach the patient. The Medical Emergency and Emergency Response Plan sets the roles and the emergency call word. Earlier that morning you completed the weekly emergency trolley, oxygen and defibrillator check with the Clinical Nurse Manager.

Your brief

Act as first responder in the drill, start basic life support and call for help using the plan, hand over to the nurse and general practitioner, then complete the post-event records: the trolley restock, the incident register entry, the debrief notes and the credential register check for resuscitation training currency.

Work through it

You do not need to do it all. Doing a few of these will show you what the work is like. Your ticks and notes stay on this device.

• Read the Medical Emergency and Emergency Response Plan and write out the first responder, nurse, general practitioner and reception roles and the emergency call word.
• Complete and record the weekly emergency trolley, oxygen and defibrillator check with the Clinical Nurse Manager before the drill.
• In the drill, describe step by step your assessment of danger and response, how you called for help, and your first two minutes of basic life support before the nurse arrives with the defibrillator.
• Describe your handover to the nurse and general practitioner and the role you take once they lead, including what you say to the other patients and the children in the waiting room.
• After the drill, restock the trolley and record the restock in the Pharmacy Stock, Imprest and Cold Chain system for the items used.
• Enter the event in the Clinical Incident and Hazard Register as it would be recorded if it were real, with a proposed severity rating and immediate actions.
• Write the debrief notes for the Clinical Nurse Manager using the meeting minutes template, including what went well and two improvements.
• Check the credential register for staff whose resuscitation training is due within 60 days and list them for the Practice Manager.

What someone in this role would produce

• Trolley, oxygen and defibrillator check record
• Written first responder account of the drill
• Incident register entry
• Debrief notes using the minutes template
• List of staff with resuscitation training due