News story 500 words:
Students and professionals complete a Blue Light Exercise at Glyntaff with a mock car crash
A major car crash is a terrifying thing to imagine, but for the professionals out there who deal with these incidents, it is a regular part of their life.
It is important that students who are on their way to becoming professionals and the professionals themselves are given practical training, so they know what to do in a real situation.
Blue Light Exercises are completed for that reason and this one involved student from the University of South Wales at its Glyntaff Campus. A mock-up road accident was put together in the car park outside of the campus. Emergency services worked together with dozens of student nurses to manage the staged scenes of a horrific car crash.
The emergency services were made up from Gwent Police probationary officers, a team from St John Cymru-Wales, specialist paramedics from the Welsh Ambulance Service’s Hazardous Area Response Team, and South Wales Fire & Rescue Service personnel. The event was designed to give those on the front line an understanding of what could happen.
Outside the emergency services dealt with a collision between a car and a van, both of which were full of passengers. A pedestrian hit by the colliding vehicles ‘played dead’ on the floor beside the crash. Inside the campus, the entrance was used as an A&E waiting room and the fantastic training wards on site were used by the student nurses to see to the injured. There was also a domestic violence dispute in one room too that was dealt with by the police.
Inside the fictional Dewi Sant Hospital was a notice up stating ‘approximate waiting times of 6 hours’. Event organiser Caroline Whittaker who is the academic manager in USW’s Faculty of Life Sciences and Education, and senior lecturer in occupational health said, “the event is based on a real-life scenario which can involve a lot of casualties.”
To make the job even harder the ‘hospital’ was due to close and move to a new facility 10 miles away in a week’s time. As a result, the capacity and capability of the hospital were reduced. Mrs Whittaker said, “the whole exercise was designed to give everyone involved an understanding of the challenges and stresses involved in dealing with a major incident.”
“Exercises like these are essential to providing the best learning opportunities for our officers. Simultaneously, offering the chance and early experience to work with other agencies and to understand the operational practices from their point of view,” said Detective Sergeant Gareth Jenkins who oversees Student and Crime Training in the Learning and Development Department of Gwent Police.
The event was documented through photographs by students on the BA Photojournalism course at USW. Military personnel helped in the hospital wards with the nurses and make-up artists added the ‘injuries’ to the actors. Increasing the spectrum of professional training roles on the day.
A well-deserved round of applause from all involved came at the debriefing after the day was rounded up successfully.
TREFOREST, UNITED KINGDOM. March 21 2018. Student nurses and drama students worked with Gwent Police, fire department and St John’s Ambulance in a mock car crash. Titled ‘the Blue Light Exercise’ at the University of South Wales campus of Glyntaff. ©Photo Matthew Lofthouse – Freelance Photographer
TREFOREST, UNITED KINGDOM. March 21 2018. Student nurses and drama students worked with Gwent Police, fire department and St John’s Ambulance in a mock car crash. Titled ‘the Blue Light Exercise’ at the University of South Wales campus of Glyntaff. ©Photo Matthew Lofthouse – Freelance Photographer
TREFOREST, UNITED KINGDOM. March 21 2018. Student nurses and drama students worked with Gwent Police, fire department and St John’s Ambulance in a mock car crash. Titled ‘the Blue Light Exercise’ at the University of South Wales campus of Glyntaff. ©Photo Matthew Lofthouse – Freelance Photographer
TREFOREST, UNITED KINGDOM. March 21 2018. Student nurses and drama students worked with Gwent Police, fire department and St John’s Ambulance in a mock car crash. Titled ‘the Blue Light Exercise’ at the University of South Wales campus of Glyntaff. ©Photo Matthew Lofthouse – Freelance Photographer
TREFOREST, UNITED KINGDOM. March 21 2018. Student nurses and drama students worked with Gwent Police, fire department and St John’s Ambulance in a mock car crash. Titled ‘the Blue Light Exercise’ at the University of South Wales campus of Glyntaff. ©Photo Matthew Lofthouse – Freelance Photographer
TREFOREST, UNITED KINGDOM. March 21 2018. Student nurses and drama students worked with Gwent Police, fire department and St John’s Ambulance in a mock car crash. Titled ‘the Blue Light Exercise’ at the University of South Wales campus of Glyntaff. ©Photo Matthew Lofthouse – Freelance Photographer
TREFOREST, UNITED KINGDOM. March 21 2018. Student nurses and drama students worked with Gwent Police, fire department and St John’s Ambulance in a mock car crash. Titled ‘the Blue Light Exercise’ at the University of South Wales campus of Glyntaff. ©Photo Matthew Lofthouse – Freelance Photographer
TREFOREST, UNITED KINGDOM. March 21 2018. Student nurses and drama students worked with Gwent Police, fire department and St John’s Ambulance in a mock car crash. Titled ‘the Blue Light Exercise’ at the University of South Wales campus of Glyntaff. ©Photo Matthew Lofthouse – Freelance Photographer
TREFOREST, UNITED KINGDOM. March 21 2018. Student nurses and drama students worked with Gwent Police, fire department and St John’s Ambulance in a mock car crash. Titled ‘the Blue Light Exercise’ at the University of South Wales campus of Glyntaff. ©Photo Matthew Lofthouse – Freelance Photographer
TREFOREST, UNITED KINGDOM. March 21 2018. Student nurses and drama students worked with Gwent Police, fire department and St John’s Ambulance in a mock car crash. Titled ‘the Blue Light Exercise’ at the University of South Wales campus of Glyntaff. ©Photo Matthew Lofthouse – Freelance Photographer
Journalism Practice (2017/18) News story 500 words: #bluelightexercise #photoJstudent Students and professionals complete a Blue Light Exercise at Glyntaff with a mock car crash. A major car crash is a terrifying... [ 483 more words ] News story 500 words: Students and professionals complete a Blue Light Exercise at Glyntaff with a mock…