Seniors - Handling a serious Injury

The Club wish to ensure that coaches, captains, physios, committee members, are aware of club responsibilities and what you may need to do should an injury occur at training or during a match. Any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the Club Secretary.

The steps for dealing with an injury for the Junior section of the club are similar
There is slightly more involved approach for reporting an incident/injury for the Junior section of the club

Some of the following is common sense and some of it is a bit more technical. Please take the time to read this.

On the pitch / at training

In the event of a serious injury:

DO NOT move the casualty.
Keep calm, reassure casualty and keep them warm. (there are heavy blankets at lock-ups at pitch & at training)
Summon the first-aider/medical personnel to the scene.
Remain with the casualty until first-aider arrives
Request that someone else moves the other players away from the scene and ensure they are supervised and protected from the weather.
Ensure medical staff/first aider is attending injured person and has sufficient assistance.
Ensure an ambulance is or has been called if appropriate (if in doubt telephone emergency services) and they know the location of the incident.
Ensure a responsible person is positioned to meet the ambulance at an appropriate location to guide it to the incident. If at the Heath, send someone to speak to the Parks staff and ask them to unlock any gates which may need to be opened for access.
Ensure the ambulance access route is clear of obstructions. Consider the need for an air ambulance landing. If ambulance access on to the pitch is required, and particularly if an air ambulance has been sent, ensure all training and matches in the vicinity are stopped.
Ensure next of kin are informed if appropriate
Arrange for the injured player to be accompanied to hospital if no next of kin present.

Under what circumstances do I need to report an injury?

A reportable injury is:

An injury which results in the player being admitted to a hospital (this does not include those that attend an Accident or Emergency Department and are allowed home from there).
Deaths which occur during or within six hours of a game finishing
Injuries in which artificial grass pitches or equipment such as goggles were involved.

Under these circumstances one of you must contact the Club Secretary and your respective section lead to inform us what has happened. Ideally, contact us on the day it happens. You will then be guided (and the individual / their family) through the process. These injuries are to be reported to the RFU within 48 hours.

For serious injuries the RFU Injured Players Foundation will support the individual and their family. They do an excellent job and will usually visit the person within 48 hours of being informed. Essentially, the faster we do our bit, the quicker our player / their family can access the support they are entitled to.

Insurance

Registered players are covered by RFU insurance which means that those who are admitted to hospital are entitled to some compensation. In addition, the insurance covers very serious injuries. It however, does not cover more standard injuries like broken wrists, ACL etc. and so players should consider getting their own insurance for injuries such as this.

First aid course

Simon is currently organising first aid courses. Please can you think about who should attend this from your teams, particularly if you know that you are unlikely to have a physio on site / a medical professional within the team. More details to follow.

Guidance docs

Attached is a guidance document from the RFU and the serious injury reporting form for your information, Info can also be found here: https://www.englandrugby.com/participation/playing/player-welfare-rugby-safe/injury-reporting

Any questions / concerns please contact the Club Secretary.

Club Secretary's contact details are:
Email: Secretary@hampsteadrugbyclub.co.uk
Mob: 07852448477 - please add the number now to your phone.