AUTUmN/WiNTER 2010 ISSUE 20 (PDF) - Energy Safe Victoria

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16www.energysafe.vic.gov.auQ: The ambulance arrived?Damien: The ambulance people gave me thewhistle to suck on for a bit of pain relief but itbasically did nothing … the shock was startingto kick in … my breathing was going prettyheavy … and they sort of told me they weregoing to have trouble getting the trolley to meand I said I would walk to the ambulance.Q: You walked to the ambulance?Damien: The pain was starting to kick in butI still felt all right … it wasn’t till about probably10 minutes after I was in the ambulance theyoffered me some pain relief and I was still ina little bit of shock and my mind knew whathappened but my body hadn’t fully let meunderstand what had happened so the painhad not kicked in by this stage … and Iwas still … I was a bit embarrassed aboutbeing taken away from the job site in anambulance … and I didn’t want to look likean idiot they offered me the pain killer …I said no I don’t want it I’d be right and hepretty much said no you’re going to have itand I’m glad he did cause if I didn’t take it Ireally would have struggled by then … I hadn’tbeen in the ambulance long but I just keptasking for more and more pain killer and theysort of said you know we’re getting to the limitwhere we can’t give you anymore and I justsaid you give it to me …Q: They have water to apply to your burns?Damien: I was wrapped in glad wrap andthey were basically pouring water over me thewhole time from the job to the hospital.Q: How did you get to the ambulance?Damien: I could open my eyes so I hadsomeone under each arm but they weren’treally helping me they were just sort of guidingme and I sort of realised later on that theycouldn’t touch me because if they did all myskin … they basically saved what skin I hadleft on my arms and legs and whatever …and by this stage, before I got into theambulance they cut my shirt off as welljust to stop anymore irritation to the skinI had left on me.Q: You arrived at The Alfred hospital?Damien: By the time I got to The Alfred I wasstruggling … I was shaking, I felt really cold. Mymind was going a million miles an hour … I reallycouldn’t think straight I was sort of passing inand out from the pain and the amount of drugs.Then somebody just came in and grabbed myeyelids peeled them open … that was the firstmoment when I knew my eyes were all right …… I really struggled to keep them open and I justremember the mask coming in and that was itfor basically a week.Q: So you were put into an induced coma?Damien: Yeah they put you into an induced coma… basically they said while you are awake yourbody will feel the pain more and you won’t heal aswell so they knock you out so your body can dowhat it has to do to make yourself recover.Q: And it was during that week that you gotthe hallucinations?Damien: Yeah basically with the dressingchanges … you can’t even explain how painfulthey were so they would drug you up pretty muchas you needed to be to feel comfortable but withthe amount of drugs, it affects your mind prettybad and some days I would be affected reallybad … have pretty severe hallucinations.Q: Give us some examples ofhallucinations.Damien: They were all different … a lot of themoriginally were about the original accident of theswitchboard blowing up … I thought that myfamily didn’t understand what had happened… they couldn’t understand how such asmall accident or small screw driver couldcause such an explosion and so very early onI was imagining my dad trying to blow up aswitchboard just to see just what would actuallyhappen so that was basically going through thewhole experience again … and a few monthsafter that they were just all pretty random … I’dsee something on TV and that would get intomy mind and I would start to think that was realto the point where I’d basically I thought peoplewere coming to kill me in the hospital which setmy heart off. I don’t know how to explain it like Ihad a raised heart beat to a point where I nearlyhad a heart attack.Q: How long were you in The Alfredhospital’s burns unit?Damien: I was in the burns unit for four weeks.Q: You spent a week in a coma … and afterthat?Damien: A week in the coma and it probablytakes about a week and a half to come out of it… they slowly bring you out of it … so your stillquite dazed … you spend a lot of time sleepingbut you still start to notice what’s going onaround you.Q: Your girlfriend, your parents and yourfriends would come and see you?Damien: Basically whenever my family came inthat’s when I really started to notice what hadhappened like … in ICU I didn’t feel a lotof pain yet … but that was because of being soheavily drugged up … then I could see my familyand my girlfriend coming into the hospital andjust the look on their faces … I knew there wassomething seriously wrong … I could just tell …I knew I was going to need a fair job to get outof it …Q: Tell us about the instructions staff giveto family members about not to show toomuch emotion?Damien: They were told not to show anyemotion that would affect badly on me thatcould send me into a panic about how I wasgoing to look when after I got out of there.Q: And so four weeks and you weretransferred to the Epworth as aninpatient… How long were you there?Damien: I was in there for six weeks but that’sonly enough to get you home … that doesn’tmean you’re ok … it’s not even close to being ok.Q: So that was six weeks of fairly intenserehabilitation … what was that like?Damien: It’s the worst … you can’t explainthe pain you go through … when your fingersare basically melted into positions they are notsupposed to be … the physios come along andthey bend them to how they should bend andit doesn’t feel good, you can’t explain the painyou go through with that.Q: And that was every day?Damien: Twice a day it was … once in themorning and once in the afternoon … basicallyyou needed the break in the middle to recover.Q: And how was your mind at this stage,were you sort of conscious of the need togo through this … this sort of agony thatwas part of the healing process?Damien: Yeah I was pretty good about it all …I sort of by now realised that the only way youare going to get out of this is let these nursesand doctors do what they have to do … youknow it’s going to hurt but if you want to moveagain you have to do it.Q: So after six weeks you were able togo home but continued to go to hospitalevery day?Shots of scene from the DVDDamien: Yeah, I’d go back to the Epworth threetimes a week for physio for general strength andmovement and I would go twice a week to getmy hands, fingers and wrists moving back theway they should.
Q: And you’re still doing that 12 monthsafter the incident?sed electricians have been seriouslye of accidents involving “live”the electrician received significant burnsds and face and required immediatent. He may be unlikely to resume aDamien: I’m still going twice a week to getmy hands and stuff moving properly.dent involving a “live” switchboard,cerned received severe burns andpent over a month in hospital – threevily sedated to allow injuries to heal.he still had not fully recovered.st be thankful – they could quiteally injured.tricians, they should have knownought it would happen to them.later: “We think we areare not. Don’t risk it.”Q: Sum up the whole experience.Damien: I’ve been to hell and back all becauseof a silly and costly mistake.Q: What’s your general advice to allelectricians … young people like yourselfeven older people?Damien: I think the best way to say this,don’t worry about anybody else, you are moreimportant, your body, your health … it’s not justyou who has to go through it … your family alsohas to put up with it: Disconnect supply beforeork.ver be contemplated unlesssons why it should be done.ld not be done until a full riskrried out. The work shouldpriate precautions have beensafety clothing and usingquicker and even cheaper toget on with the job in safety.Q: So why were you working live?Damien: I was working live because I feltpressure from builders and other tradespeople on the job to keep power on so theycould all work.Q: Again, should you have beenworking live?Damien: No I shouldn’t have.Energy Safe VictoriaPhone (03) 9203 9700Fax (03) 9686 2197Web www.esv.vic.gov.auELECTRICAL SAFETYDO NOT WORK“LIVE”2/8/05 6:26:28 PMContact ESV for a copy of this brochure – 1800 800 158or (03) 9203 9700 or info@esv.vic.gov.auProvide a copy to your customers so they canunderstand the risks involved in working “live”.Yvonne Singer of the Victorian Adult Burns Service andTess Vawser of the Centre of Health Innovation at The Alfred hospital.Electricianexplainswhy hewon’t work“live” againThe letter to ESV by a licensedelectrician after being involvedin a live work incident.On the day of the incident my job was toput a circuit breaker into the switchboardand fit one circuit to it. I didn’t turn thepower off.To this day I still don’t know the reasonwhy I didn’t. I tried to work too fast andobviously didn’t take the necessary stepsto work in a safe manner. Our works JSAsstate that under no circumstances shouldwe work on live boards.We have had safety meetings at worksince I have been working there. Theytake safety very seriously.I know it was my fault. I will take safetyvery seriously as I have a partner andtwo beautiful girls to come home to.I know that it’s not worth not being safeat work. It was a massive reality checkfor me. My boss was fantastic in theway he and his wife looked after me.He has sat me down and talked at lengthabout safety.The steps I will take from now on is I willmake sure I work in a safe manner. Notonly about turning power off but also withladders and looking after myself.I have been in the industry for nearly 20years and got complacent. But I will not bedoing that again. Also the company doesa tool box meeting about safety once amonth. So that will be a good reminderof what happened and keep me tunedinto what not to do.It really does hit home what could havehappened to me. It frightens me to thinkof what my girls could go through if I wasgone. I never want that to happen.17Autumn/Winter 2010 ISSUE 20ESV’s “Look Up and Live” billboard poster displayed prominently through regional Victoria in late summer and early autumn,
Page 6 and 7: 6www.energysafe.vic.gov.auESV alert
Page 8 and 9: Victorian Bushfires RoyalCommission
Page 10 and 11: Beware carbon monoxide -the silent
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Page 14 and 15: 14www.energysafe.vic.gov.auA disput
Page 18: 18www.energysafe.vic.gov.auPower co
Page 21 and 22: Positive responses for ESV fromstak
Page 23 and 24: ESV issues importantsafety advice o
Page 26 and 27: 26www.energysafe.vic.gov.auNew Elec
Page 28 and 29: Guidance notes for the electricaltr
Page 30 and 31: New gas installation or changeover-
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AUTUmN/WiNTER 2010 ISSUE 20 (PDF) - Energy Safe Victoria

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