Combat Injury Procedures
anyone may call hold - whether the injured person, or anyone seeing an injury
injured person must be asked for their consent no treatment if consent is refused
On the field
- When an injury occurs on the field, the primary concern is assisting the injured party. Secondary is the safety of people entering the field to help and the well-being of anyone already on the field.
- In the event of any suspected injury on the field, call a hold to halt all fighting in the area and determine the proper course of action. The hold may be a local hold as long as the safety of the injured person can be maintained.
- In the event of an emergency, the marshals shall cooperate with any authorised persons responding to the emergency and keep the area clear of would-be spectators.
- No non-combatant shall enter the combat area until summoned by a marshal.
- A marshal shall call for assistance if they suspect that a participant is experiencing more than momentary distress. It is an extremely serious matter to delay first aid when it is needed, and marshals who ignore injuries may be subject to suspension of their authorisation to supervise combat-related activities.
Treatment
- If the injured person is conscious, they must be asked if they would like assistance. No conscious person shall be forced to accept treatment without their consent.
Reporting
- All injuries that require hospitalisation or similar care, include a period of unconsciousness, or may require future medical care need to be reported to your Kingdom Earl Marshal within 24 hours of the incident. Include all available details in the report.
- Any incident involving calling emergency services to site must be reported to the Kingdom Seneschal immediately.
Adverse events must be reported. Adverse events include:
injuries which resulted in bleeding, and/or which required a combatant to retire from the field, even briefly.
Documentation including the marshal's account, and images, are highly encouraged to provide the greatest detail for these records. Refer to Appendix 7 for suggested report details.
Serious injuries must be reported to the Deputy Earl Marshal for Armoured Combat, within 24 hours. Acknowledging that the Deputy Earl Marshal for Armoured Combat may be in a different time zone, notification can wait until the following morning.
Serious injuries include:
- all injuries which require hospitalization or may require complex medical care
- any injuries that include a period of unconsciousness.
Serious injuries must be reported to the Society Fencing Marshal within 48 hours. All other adverse events must be reported to the kingdom marshallate within 2 weeks and to the Society Marshal within 3 months of the incident.
- Any immediate and significant problems associated with an injury on the field shall be reported to the kingdom Earl Marshal.