Surf Life Saving Queensland Skills Maintenance Bulletin 2014/2015 Season

Transcription

1 Surf Life Saving Queensland Skills Maintenance Bulletin 2014/2015 Season v Give. Get Involved. Be Safe.

2 What is Skills Maintenance? Skills Maintenance replaces the previously used term of Proficiency Assessment. The change in terminology brings SLSQ in line with SLSA. Things you need to know before you turn up to do skills maintenance Bronze Medallion holders require the Certificate II in Public Safety (Aquatic Rescue) Any member patrolling as a Bronze Medallion holder MUST hold the Certificate II in Public Safety (Aquatic Rescue) PRIOR to commencing patrols or undertaking skills maintenance for the 2014/2015 season. Any Bronze Medallion holder who does not hold the Certificate II in Public Safety (Aquatic Rescue) MUST achieve this before patrolling or attending skills maintenance. To check if you are eligible to commence patrols or do your skills maintenance, check your awards list by using Lifesaving Online. You are looking for a line that states Certificate II in Public Safety (Aquatic Safety). If you do not see the Certificate II in Public Safety (Aquatic Safety) line in your awards list, please contact your club immediately to arrange to complete the Certificate II requirements. How you can meet the Certificate II requirements will depend on whether you completed your Bronze Medallion skills maintenance in the 2013/2014 season or not. 1. If you completed the 2013/2014 season Bronze Medallion skills maintenance requirements, you are eligible to complete the Cert II upgrade course. Once the upgrade course has been completed (talk to your Chief Training Officer to get access to the resources to complete and return), you will then be able to undertake your 2014/2015 season skills maintenance. 2. If you did not complete the 2013/2014 season Bronze Medallion skills maintenance requirements, you will need to complete the assessment only RPL pathway. Completing this option will then also count as your 2014/2015 season Bronze Medallion skills maintenance (as long as completed after 1 st July 2014). Talk to your Chief Training Officer to get access to the resources to complete this task and to arrange a suitable time for you to complete the practical assessment tasks. Attending skills maintenance but not at your own club If you are going to do your skills maintenance somewhere other than your own club, you must notify your Club Captain/CTO/Administrator and nominate which club you will be doing your skills maintenance with. If the club you nominate to do your skills maintenance with is not within your own Branch, then you will need prior approval from your Branch Director of Lifesaving. If you undertake skills maintenance outside of Queensland, you must notify your Club and Branch as above and you will still be required to complete any additional Queensland requirements before patrolling in Queensland (e.g. skills maintenance paper if Bronze/IRB Crew/IRB Driver or other differences).

3 Theory Paper This year only Bronze Medallion, IRB Crew and IRB Driver s will need to complete the theory paper. Most clubs encourage their members to access and complete the skills maintenance theory paper online. This saves both you and the assessor s time on the day of the skills maintenance as there is no waiting for papers to be marked. To access the online skills maintenance paper, you will need to have created a Lifesaving Online account. If you are having trouble, please read through the instructions for how to create your Lifesaving Online account on the Surf Life Saving Queensland website ( hover over Membership tab and select Member Education option scroll down to SLSQ Online Learning and click on Continue Reading ). If you are unable to access the online version of the theory paper, please contact your club. Pool Swim Major Change Club Members who are proficient in their award (SRC/Bronze Medallion) are not required to undertake the timed pool swim* for skills maintenance for that award. Club Members who have let their award proficiency lapse (e.g. completing proficiency after 31 st December or who have had one or more season s off) will need to complete the pool swim requirements prior to undertaking skills maintenance as per previous years. Pool swim requirements remain in place for all new awards. The change meets the national standard set by Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA). This has been recommended by the SLSQ Education Panel and endorsed by the SLSQ Lifesaving Committee. Signals Signals missing from the Public Safety and Aquatic Rescue 33 rd Edition Manual The following two International Life Saving (ILS) signals were introduced during the 2012/2013 season and are being included in the 34 th Edition of the Public Safety and Aquatic Rescue manual when it is released. These signals will not be new to you if you completed either a new Bronze Medallion or skills maintenance last season. 1. Submerged patient missing This is the most serious signal of all. A swimmer is missing and presumed submerged. Other lifesavers on shore should immediately fix the position of the lifesaver sending the signal and initiate an appropriate response. The signal is created by raising both arms to form a cross above the head (which creates the nickname of Code X). 2. All clear/okay This signal is used by a lifesaver to indicate that no help is required in performing the rescue and that the patient is stable. Other lifesavers should continue to observe and monitor the situation as the situation may deteriorate. Lifesavers trained in Silver Medallion Aquatic Rescue may also use this signal to indicate that they are fine after performing an entry into the water from height or over rocks. The signal is created by touching the middle of the head with the fingertips of one hand.

4 Radios SLSQ has moved to digital radio as it has several advantages. These advantages are: enhanced voice clarity better quality coverage increased calling capacity availability of software applications SLSQ s radios operate based on Line of Sight and use of repeaters. If there are building, retaining walls, steep sand dunes, thick vegetation and headlands between the two radios or between the radio and repeater, this interferes with line of sight and therefore interfere with radio transmissions. This is something to keep in mind if you are in the first aid room and trying to radio information through, you might need to step outside to send your message. Whenever you are using a handheld radio, remember to hold it upright and as high as practical. This will maximise the radio s useable range for both transmitting and receiving. To achieve the optimum clarity and volume when transmitting from your radio you need to identify the microphone on your radio and then hold it in the correct position. Look for a small hole on your radio with the letters mic imprinted nearby. Hold the radio so that this microphone is approximately 10cm from and to the side of your mouth. Remember to shield the microphone from the wind. What information does SurfCom need when they are asked to call for an ambulance When a radio call is made to SurfCom and a request is made that an ambulance be called for, the radio operator will need to be able to provide further details. This information is requested by the SurfCom operator so that they can relay all the relevant information when they make the call to Triple Zero (000). The SurfCom Management System will prompt the SurfCom operator to request the following information from you: Ambulance Call Checklist - What is the exact address and location of the emergency? - What is the phone number you are calling from? - Brief description of problem, tell me exactly what happened? - Number of patients? - Patient gender? - Patient age? - Is patient awake/conscious? - Is patient bleeding externally? - Is patient completely alert? - Is patient breathing normally? - Any prior medical conditions / medications they take? - Any treatments/procedures being administered to the patient? Remember, the questions you are being asked by the SurfCom operator are the same questions that the Triple Zero (000) operator will be asking them. It is all done to ensure that the appropriate assistance required is dispatched accordingly.

5 Closing the beach/patrol area From time to time patrol members may need to close the beach/patrol area due to dangerous conditions. As per the SLSQ Patrol Operations manuals, patrol members should take the following actions when closing the beach due to dangerous surf conditions: 1. The red and yellow flags shall be removed/taken down (if previously erected) 2. Advise beach goers that swimming area is being closed and reason for closure 3. The red flag and emergency evacuation flag (if applicable) shall be erected 4. Where the swimming area would normally be, a SWIMMING PROHIBITED sign/s and a red flag and relevant hazard sign shall be erected 5. Report beach closure to the relevant SurfCom detailing the reason for closure 6. SWIMMING PROHIBITED: approved best practice signage with red flag and hazard sign should be erected at major beach access points where practical 7. Conditions Boards shall be changed to read Surf Dangerous, No Swimming When the beach is closed, at least two (2) patrol members both whom are Bronze Medallion holders, one patrol member preferably to be an IRB Driver must be allocated to patrol the beach, to ensure swimmers do not enter the water and to be ready in case of emergency during normal patrol hours. NOTE: The practise of crossing the red and yellow flags is NOT recognised under any bathing by-laws or the Standards Australia. This method is NOT to be used. IRB s SLSQ has set the following clothing and PPE requirements when operating an IRB. These requirements have been put in place as of the 1 st of July Refer to section 09 and section 14 of the 2014/2015 Patrol Operations Manual. SLSQ has set the following clothing and PPE requirements when operating an IRB: Water safety for junior activities and other water safety activities: Patrol 1. Both IRB crew and driver must wear a orange cap secured under the chin, orange water safety rash shirt with an SLSA approved red and yellow PFD Level Both IRB crew and driver must wear a red and yellow patrol cap, long sleeve yellow rash shirt/patrol shirt and an SLSA approved red and yellow PFD Level These requirements are set out as per the current SLSQ Patrol Operations Manual Section No: LS0014 IRB Award Training and IRB Skill Maintenance

6 1. Both IRB crew and driver must wear a training/club cap (not a red and yellow patrol cap), long sleeve high visibility rash shirt and an SLSA approved red and yellow PFD Level 50. Below is a link to MSQ in relation to frequently asked questions in relation to Lifejackets. lifejackets_faq.pdf Correctly fitted Lifejacket/PDF Zipper is up, all clips are fastened, radio is secure in pouch, and PFD is fitted snuggly to the member s hips. Poorly fitted Lifejacket/ PFD (not acceptable) Zipper not done up, clips not fastened, radio clip not clipped in/secure. PDF is too large. IRB Operators are reminded that accurate and timely reporting of injuries/incidents/damage where an IRB is involved is vital. It is also important to remember our obligations to Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) as well as our own Surf Life Saving reporting documents. Any time a member sustains an injury and the use of an IRB has been involved, the SLSA Incident report form, IRB Log and Patrol logs must be filled out. The MSQ form must also be completed within 48 hours of the incident and the relevant SLSQ staff member notified. In cases where an IRB has been damaged but there is not injury to a person The MSQ form must be completed within 48 hours of the incident and the relevant SLSQ staff member notified. IRB Log and Patrol Log also need to include a record of the damage.