One of the medical protocol initiatives is a “Serious Injury” protocol, reporting form, and follow-up questionnaire, to study and understand from a practical perspective
why the serious and/or catastrophic injuries are occurring, where they are occurring,
and how we can prevent them. This protocol aims to provide a structured approach
to dealing with potentially serious and/or catastrophic injuries in rugby union.
Every coach and referee will be educated in the DVD workshops on how to use this
protocol effectively. It also brings a level of accountability to rugby personnel
at matches in properly managing serious injuries.
The protocol provides step by step instructions and details the club, school, team, provincial union and the South
African Rugby Union’s responsibilities. The protocol also dictates that the home
team’s responsible person, coach or referee needs to telephone the BokSmart Spineline
helpline. The emergency medical service provider, ER24, will immediately notify
the BokSmart Serious Injury Case Manager (SICM) to the injury.
The SICM ensures
that all relevant parties are informed with regards to any serious and/or catastrophic
injury associated with the game, and makes key decisions regarding the injured player’s
management en route to a suitable medical facility. Following the incident, both
the referee and coach have to independently submit a completed “Serious Injury Report
Form” to the BokSmart SICM within 48 hours. The SICM will in the interim ensure
that appropriate care and management of the player has been provided. The SICM then
performs a standardised follow-up assessment with the injured player, coach/referee
and/or witnesses to better understand how the incident could have been prevented.
Ultimately the information gathered by this process will help make the game safer
for future participants in the game.