Assessing the Sick or Collapsed Patient

A collapse in the surgery or waiting room is often disorienting. A structured assessment reduces missed findings. Start with danger, response, airway, breathing and circulation, then consider disability, glucose, exposure and possible triggers.

Useful first questions

• Is the patient responsive?
• Are they breathing normally?
• Is there airway swelling, choking, wheeze, stridor, or noisy breathing?
• Are they pale, clammy, blue, confused, fitting, sweating, or severely distressed?
• What just happened: injection, extraction, medicine, latex, anxiety, fasting, sedation, or known condition?

Dental nurses can support the assessment by stopping instruments, removing hazards, reclining or sitting the patient appropriately, bringing the emergency kit, checking the medical history, asking a colleague to record times, and ensuring the 999 caller has the practice address and access details.

ABCDE and role boundaries

In a collapse, do not wait for the perfect label. Check responsiveness and breathing, call for help, bring the emergency kit and AED, and keep reassessing.