How Can We Help?
< All Topics

Casualty Classification – P1, P2 & P3

During our events, we will inevitably have competitors who will want to retire early for a wide range of reasons, but also have people who may not realise they are in difficulty, and it is down to us to identify this and advise them appropriately about their options. There will also be the unfortunate scenario where we may have to deal with competitors who fall unconscious and we have to evacuate them in the most efficient way possible.

Below, we have created the following training videos as to how to deal with the 3 different categories of incident priorities we may encounter and how to best deal with them. These are a guideline on our procedure, but somethings may change dependant on the venue you are at and the situations these may occur in.

P1 Extraction

A P1 (Priority 1) casualty is the highest level of urgency. P1 casualties shall include –

  • Casualties that are not fully conscious or are so exhausted that they are unable to keep their head above water or unable to support themselves onto a kayak.
  • Casualties that have any form of respiratory/cardiac difficulty (i.e. asthma, hyperventilation, heart attack, hypoglycaemia etc.)
  • Casualties that are showing signs of suffering from a swimming induced pulmonary edema (even if still conscious) (i.e. coughing up blood (even in small amounts), frothy sputum/mucus, extreme shortness of breath, reported loss of sight)
  • Casualties that are seen to disappear/sink below the water’s surface.

A video demonstration of a P1 extraction and the procedure behind this can be seen below.

[P1 extraction video]

P2 & P3 Extraction

A P2 (Priority 2) casualty does not represent the same level of urgency as a P1, although attention to casualty care needs to be taken. P2 casualties shall include –

  • Any casualty with a minor injury (dislocation), cramp or appears hyper/hypothermic.
  • Any casualty with a minor injury that has a potential to escalate to a P1.

A P3 (priority 3) casualty is the lowest level of urgency and usually requires the casualty to be retired from their race due to a various number of reasons. P3 casualties shall include –

  • All incidents or casualties that are not categorised as a P1 or P2

A video demonstration of a P2 and P3 extraction and the procedure behind this can be seen below.

[P2 & P3 extraction video]