Assessment of casualties in a chemical environment.

A trial is reported in which RAMC staff working in a dressing station and wearing full NBC Individual Protective Equipment (IPE), attempted to take pulse and blood pressure (BP) readings on casualties similarly clad. These basic parameters however, were obtained from only half the casualties, the time taken to obtain them was prohibitive and the blood pressures were inaccurate. Certain remedies are discussed but until existing equipment is modified casualties are best evacuated directly to a protected unit or out of the contaminated zone.