Rugby Suisse - Intervention

Intervention

The Player Welfare programme consists of a series of resources and measures made available to clubs, players, coaches, educators, parents, and the entire Suisserugby Community. The different measures and services constitute a set of recommendations, not rules or obligations. .

INTERVENTION:
Here we focus on a set of measures to be taken in case an injury does happen, or player welfare is compromised in other ways.

MEASURES

PRIORITIES

The following priorities have been identified by the Medical Commission to be implemented next:

EMERGENCY PROTOCOL FOR CLUBS:

•It is acknowledged that it is difficult to allocate qualified medical personnel at matches. Therefore, it is essential that an Emergency Medical Protocol be established at clubs should an medical emergency arise

•It is recommended that clubs make the necessary arrangements in order to facilitate an urgent request for an ambulance and should take into account the following factors

- Telephone number to call emergency services to request an ambulance which is in the closest vicinity of the ground

- Distance of emergency services from the ground and required response time

- Quickest access (roads/gates) to the ground

•It is recommended that all clubs summarize this information on an Emergency Medical Assistance Card which can be distributed to the appropriate members at the club and will provide a reference to all the important information that is required should an ambulance be required in a medical emergency

AED AND OTHER EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT:

•It is important for clubs to identify if there is a functioning AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) in the vicinity of the ground/stadium where the match or training sessions take place and that there are qualified first aiders available who have been trained to use them (Including all those who have taken the FSR / WR Medical Course Level I)

•Recommendations state that defibrillation should occur within three minutes of cardiac arrest. So ideally, AEDs need to be close to the playing areas and easily accessible when needed

•By commencing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with attempts to restart the heart (with an AED) can improve survival for out of hospital cardiac arrest from 8% to 60% (Resuscitation Council UK statistics).

•A list of recommendations will be prepared of other Emergency equipment besides an AED

IDENTIFICATION, TREATMENT, REPORTING, AND FOLLOWUP OF CONCUSSIONS AND SERIOUS INJURIES

•All those having followed the FSR / WR Medical Course Level I have learned how to identify and provide first treatment for concussions and other serious injuries, and how to follow up on concussions with their players.

• It was reported that there has been a very poor response from the clubs to report concussion and serious injuries since it was initiated at the beginning of season 2019/2020 (two reports received).

•It has been recommended that a simplified FSR Injury Report Form be introduced in season 2020/2021 which would be completed and included in the Match Report.

•It is by providing the injury statistics following matches that it will assist the FSR to identify any specific injury trends and provide the opportunity to introduce preventative strategies through player preparation as well as strength and conditioning programmes which may apply to specific positions

TIMELINE

The different measures are introduced step by step over the course of several seasons, and provide a set of recommendations and resources designed to help any players, coaches, parents, or clubs who might be interested in enhancing and ensuring player safety and welfare.