What is happening?

What to do

1. Fully or partly severed body part: call now, even for a finger. Treat the person and stop bleeding first. Do not delay to search for the part.
2. Use gloves if at hand. Find the wound and press firmly with gauze or clean cloth. For an embedded object, press either side, not on it. Another person calls. Alone, use speakerphone.
3. Keep firm pressure at the bleeding point. If bleeding continues, get guidance to check where you press. Do not pile up many layers or lift the pad just to look.
4. Child/baby or short stump: pressure and emergency help now. Tourniquet only suitable size and trained/guided use. No room clear of joint/wound: follow dispatcher. Do not improvise fit or site.
5. Life-threatening arm/leg bleeding despite pressure: use a commercial tourniquet if trained or dispatcher-guided. Place 5–7 cm above the wound, never over a joint. Tighten until bleeding stops, record time and do not loosen.
6. Tourniquet in place, still bleeding: report now. If trained, check fit/position. Available second goes above first per instructions. Never loosen first. Keep visible and record times.
7. Help them rest without unnecessary movement. Cover with a blanket. Tell the dispatcher about pallor, cold skin, confusion or worsening breathing.
8. Once the person is being treated, retrieve the part if safe. Wrap in clean gauze or cloth dampened with water or saline. Seal in a clean watertight bag or container.
9. Put the sealed bag inside another with ice or ice water. The part must not touch ice or water directly. Label name and storage time. Send it to the same hospital.
10. If unresponsive: call emergency services. If breathing is abnormal, start CPR with dispatcher guidance.
11. Still attached: do not detach or straighten. Support gently as found, no pulling or squeezing connection. Do not bag in ice: it remains attached to the person.
12. No watertight bag or ice: wrap clean and still hand to team. No soaking/freezing or delaying transport for supplies. Dirty part: tell team. No scrubbing or disinfectant.