Lesson previewSerious Bleeding: Recognise and Act1 section shown
Preview lesson
Serious Bleeding: Recognise and Act
What you will learn
Recognise life-threatening external bleeding, protect the response and begin the current pressure-and-call sequence without delaying for cleaning or a perfect dressing.
Life-threatening bleeding is a circulation emergency: make the scene safe, call early and put firm direct manual pressure on the bleeding site while the boat response continues around the casualty.
Life-threatening bleeding may be obvious as continuous or spurting blood, rapidly soaked material or a casualty who is becoming pale, clammy, weak, confused or less responsive. Do not wait to estimate a blood volume. Protect against blood and the original hazard where practical, expose only enough to locate the source and call 999 or the effective maritime emergency route early.
Apply firm direct manual pressure to the bleeding site. Use a standard or haemostatic dressing if available and within current training; otherwise use clean material and keep pressure focused on stopping the bleed. Once controlled, secure a pressure dressing without hiding renewed bleeding or restricting the checks that matter.
Keep airway, breathing and response visible while another crew member controls the vessel, position and call. Do not interrupt effective pressure to wash a life-threatening wound, search for a branded kit item or repeatedly lift the dressing to look. This online lesson rehearses priorities; it does not establish wound-packing, pressure-dressing or haemorrhage-control skill.
Injury response board
Keep the life threat, exception, and handover visible
Select an observed injury to compare scene safety, life threats, specific care, protection, monitoring and handover. Every state is complete in text and does not depend on colour.
- 1Scene + call
- 2Life threats
- 3Specific care
- 4Protect
- 5Monitor
- 6Handover
The stages do not replace one another: controlling a wound cannot hide abnormal breathing, and a serious casualty cannot make an electrical, chemical, machinery or vessel hazard safe.
1 · Scene + call
Control the original blade, glass, machinery, loaded line or vessel hazard. Call early while a barrier is used if immediately available.
2 · Life threats
Apply firm direct manual pressure now and keep airway, breathing and response visible. Do not delay for cleaning or a blood-volume estimate.
3 · Specific care
Use a standard or haemostatic dressing within training. If life-threatening limb bleeding resists pressure, use the trained tourniquet pathway and record its time.
4 · Protect
Maintain pressure, warmth and a safe casualty position while other crew own vessel control, communication and responder access.
5 · Monitor
Watch the visible result, response, breathing and circulation pattern. Do not repeatedly lift the dressing or assume control ends deterioration.
6 · Handover
Give mechanism, site, pressure and equipment used, application times, response, breathing, change, medicines and honest unknowns.
Choose an observed injury and rehearse scene safety, life-threat priorities, specific care, protection, monitoring and handover without simulating a physical treatment.
Worked example
A crew member's forearm is cut by broken glass. Blood continues through the cloth they are holding, and they are becoming quiet while the yacht is still making way.
- 1One crew member takes the helm and makes the scene safer while another starts the effective emergency call and puts on gloves if immediately available.
- 2The first aider exposes only enough to locate the source, applies firm direct pressure with clean material and keeps that pressure in place.
- 3The crew reports the continuing bleeding, response and vessel limitations, prepares transfer access and records when effective pressure began.
Sense check: The sequence controls the life threat and the boat together; washing the wound or repeatedly checking underneath would spend time without controlling the bleed.
| Observed problem | Immediate priority | Unsafe delay |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy or continuing external bleeding | Call and apply firm direct manual pressure | Cleaning the wound before controlling blood loss |
| Material rapidly soaks through | Maintain focused pressure and reassess control | Repeatedly lifting the dressing to inspect |
| Casualty becomes pale, weak or confused | Update help, treat the cause and keep ABC response visible | Calling this emotional shock and waiting |
| Open chest wound | Call; leave open to communicate unless trained vented equipment is used | Sealing it with an ordinary occlusive dressing |
Run pressure, call and boat control in parallel
The only first aider is also trimming sails when a deep cut starts bleeding heavily.
1. Protect the response
Stabilise the vessel task, avoid the original hazard and use a barrier when it is immediately available.
2. Control the bleed
Apply direct manual pressure now rather than leaving the casualty to search for equipment.
3. Extend capability
Call early, combine crew roles explicitly and prepare the safest transfer route.
Sense check: A small crew may combine roles, but pressure, communication and vessel control still need named ownership.
Common mistake or limitation
- Washing a life-threatening wound before controlling the bleeding.
- Lifting the pad repeatedly to see whether pressure is working.
- Sending every crew member to the casualty and leaving the vessel response unmanaged.
Recap
- Recognise continuing heavy bleeding as a circulation emergency without estimating litres.
- Call early and apply firm direct manual pressure immediately.
- Keep pressure, ABC observation, vessel control and responder access moving together.
Optional quick check
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