3.2 Explain Procedures to Follow if an Accident or Sudden Illness Occurs

This guide answers assessment criterion 3.2, “Explain procedures to be followed if an accident or sudden illness should occur”, from the health, safety and wellbeing unit of the RQF Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care. It explains what your assessor expects, sets out the procedure step by step and gives a model answer and a worked scenario you can adapt to your own workplace.

What criterion 3.2 asks you to do

This criterion sits under the learning outcome “Understand procedures for responding to accidents and sudden illness”. The word that matters is explain. Listing steps is not enough: you need to say what you would do and why each step matters for the individual, for you and for the organisation.

Your answer should be about your own work setting and follow your employer’s agreed ways of working. A domiciliary care worker who is alone in someone’s home will follow a different procedure from a nurse-led care home with a first aider on every shift, and your assessor will expect your answer to reflect that.

The assessment criteria in this learning outcome

Some awarding bodies number this criterion differently (for example 2.2), but the wording is the same. NVQ and RQF diploma criteria have no Pass, Merit or Distinction grades: your assessor decides whether your evidence meets the criterion.

The procedure to explain

1. Stay calm and check for danger. Make sure the area is safe for you and the individual before you approach, for example by checking for spilled water, trailing cables or a hazard that caused the accident. You cannot help anyone if you are injured too.
2. Assess the individual and call for help. Check whether they are responsive and breathing. Use the call bell, radio or phone to summon the qualified first aider or nurse on duty. In a lone-working role, follow your employer’s lone-working procedure.
3. Call 999 when needed. Call an ambulance straight away for signs of a serious emergency, such as no breathing, chest pain, signs of a stroke (use FAST: face, arms, speech, time), severe bleeding, a suspected fracture or a seizure lasting more than five minutes. For less urgent concerns, your setting may use NHS 111 or the GP.
4. Only act within your training. Give first aid only if you are trained and it is within your role. Do not move someone who has fallen unless they are in immediate danger, because moving them could worsen a hidden injury. Follow any advance decisions, DNACPR or ReSPECT form recorded in their care plan.
5. Stay with and reassure the individual. Keep them warm, maintain their dignity and privacy and explain what is happening. Observe and note any changes, such as breathing, colour or level of response, to pass to the paramedics.
6. Hand over clearly. Give the first aider or paramedics accurate information: what happened, the time, what you saw, the person’s medication list and any known conditions.
7. Record the incident. Complete the accident book or incident form and the care record as soon as possible, factually and in your own words, including the time, what happened, actions taken and who was informed.
8. Report it. Tell your manager, who will inform the individual’s family or representative (with consent where appropriate) and decide whether the incident must be reported externally, for example to the Health and Safety Executive under RIDDOR 2013 or as a notification to the Care Quality Commission.
9. Review and learn. After the incident the risk assessment and care plan should be reviewed, for example a falls risk assessment after a fall, so that the chance of it happening again is reduced.

Why the procedure matters: the law and policy behind it

• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974: employers must protect the health and safety of staff and others affected by their work, including people who use services; employees must take reasonable care and co-operate with their employer.
• Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981: employers must provide adequate first aid equipment, facilities and people.
• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR): certain work-related accidents, injuries and dangerous occurrences must be reported to the HSE.
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: require risk assessment and emergency procedures.
• Your employer’s policies: accident and incident reporting, first aid, falls management and lone working.

Worked example: applying the procedure to a sudden illness

Scenario: during a morning home visit, a domiciliary care worker finds Mr K, who has type 1 diabetes, sweaty, shaky and confused. He says he skipped breakfast.

This table format, covering action and reason, is a quick way to show your assessor that you can explain, not just describe.

Common mistakes that cost marks

• Writing a general first aid guide instead of the procedure in your own workplace.
• Saying you would carry out first aid tasks you are not trained or authorised to do.
• Leaving out recording and reporting, which assessors always look for.
• Missing the reasons behind each step, so the answer describes rather than explains.
• Forgetting the individual’s wishes, such as a DNACPR decision or ReSPECT form.
• Mixing up 3.1 and 3.2 by listing types of accidents instead of the procedure.

How to make your answer meet the criterion fully

Check your workplace accident and first aid policy before you write, and use the same terms it uses. Cover both an accident and a sudden illness, because the criterion names both. Include at least one example from your own practice (anonymised), and link your steps to the law and to the individual’s rights, dignity and safety. If your assessor observes you or holds a professional discussion, the same structure works for spoken evidence.

FAQs

What is the difference between 3.1 and 3.2?

3.1 asks you to describe the types of accidents and sudden illness that could happen in your setting. 3.2 asks you to explain what you must do when one happens and why.

Do I need a first aid certificate to answer 3.2?

No. You need to explain the procedure, including when to call a trained first aider. You should be clear about which tasks you are and are not trained to carry out.

Which accidents must be reported under RIDDOR?

RIDDOR covers specified work-related deaths, serious injuries, some occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences. Your manager normally decides whether an incident is reportable, using HSE guidance.

Should I move someone who has fallen?

Not unless they are in immediate danger. Follow your setting’s post-falls procedure, which usually requires a check by a trained person and the use of suitable equipment before the person is helped up.

Need one-to-one support from a subject specialist? Our BTEC Level 3 Health and Social Care assignment help service covers planning, feedback on drafts and referencing.

If you need help writing or checking your diploma evidence, you can get expert help with your BTEC assignment. For another criterion from the same diploma, see our 2.1 equality and diversity legislation answer.