Earlier today we added a report to the Road Safety Blog about a 10-year old boy who was seriously injured in a hit-and –run accident. It was also reported that the boy is deaf. This immediately raised the question as to whether this boy would be easily identified if he is not able to communicate or where there are no relatives nearby. Would it be easy to identify whether he is on a medical fund, suffers from allergies or what his blood group is…
I would like to quote from the Arrive Alive website and content on “Identification of a patient”:
“In the event of an accident or a medical emergency it is often a stranger who comes to your rescue. A major concern for many people is personal identification and the notification of family members of such an event.
These strangers who come into our lives are everyday heroes and real life detectives. First and foremost their job is to save a life but once the patient is stabilised they have to identify the patient, enquire about medical aid and often contact family members.
This can be done in numerous ways, all of which have their advantages and disadvantages. “
One of the most obvious and best ways to establish identification is to locate a wallet with medical aid card, driver’s license or other form of identification. If the emergency personnel were not first on scene this may have been stolen by bystanders.
We would like to recommend that road users consider a unique product called a Lifecap. This is an emergency info capsule that fits perfectly on a keyring. Inside the capsule the owner provides information on important aspects that could be the difference between life and death.
View the information included:
