Combat Injury Procedures

On the field

1. If there is a suspected injury on the field, anyone may call a hold to stop 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 war combat with arrows, local holds cannot include helms being removed. A full hold to all combat must be called if helmets need to be removed.
2. A marshal should call for assistance if they suspect that someone 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 have their ability to supervise combat suspended.
3. In the event of an emergency, everyone must cooperate with any authorised persons responding to the emergency and keep the area clear of spectators.
4. Do not enter the field to assist until given the go-ahead by a marshal, once combat has stopped.

Treatment

1. If the injured person is conscious, they must be asked if they would like assistance. You cannot force a conscious person to accept treatment without their consent.

Return to the field

1. As per the Fighter's Handbook rule 4.2.6, if the injury involves a suspected concussion, the patient must leave the field and cannot participate in combat until they have been cleared of potential concussion. The patient should be assessed against Concussion in Sport Group's Concussion Recognition Tool, and referred to a healthcare professional as appropriate.
2. As per the Fighter's Handbook rule 4.2.7, if the injury involves free flowing blood, the patient must leave the field immediately and may not return until the flow of blood has stopped.

Reporting

1. Serious injuries must be reported to the Kingdom Armoured Combat Marshal and the Earl Marshal within 24 hours of the incident and reported to the Society Armored Combat Marshal within 48 hours. Include all available details in the report. Serious injuries include:
   • all injuries which require hospitalisation or may require complex medical care
   • any injuries that include a period of unconsciousness.
2. Any incident involving calling emergency services to site must be reported to the Kingdom Seneschal within 24 hours. Their phone number is published in Pegasus.
3. Other adverse events must be reported to the Kingdom marshallate within 2 weeks and to the Society Marshal within 3 months of the incident. These include:
   • injuries which resulted in bleeding, and/or which required a combatant to retire from the field, even briefly.
   • near misses
4. Documentation including the marshal's account, and images, are highly encouraged to provide the greatest detail for these records.