Recommendation - South Wales Police, October 2020
Recommendation date: 14 October 2020
Response due: 9 December 2020
Published: 2 July 2021
Death and serious injury
This learning was identified from an investigation where South Wales Police officers (SWP) failed to recognise the signs of a serious head injury. The injured man was taken to hospital by the officers after an attempt was made to place the man into a family member's car. It is possible that greater attempts could have been made to ensure the arrival of an ambulance. Upon arrival at hospital, the man was assessed as being in a critical condition having suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain. SWP do not train response officers in managing a casualty with a head injury though this training is provided to custody officers and other custody staff.
Recommendations (1)
Recommendation 1
Accepted
Recommendation
The IOPC recommends that South Wales Police (SWP) amends the first aid training provided to front line officers to ensure all officers and staff receive training regarding managing a casualty with a head injury. In the interim, SWP should take … Read more
Force Response
Accepted action: All officers and staff will have received training on the identification and management of head injury casualties as part of their initial First Aid courses i.e. everyone will have received this after joining. Mod 3 and above has … Read more