First aid for a chemical eye injury — OSCE

Candidate instructions (8-minute station)

You are the paediatric registrar in the emergency department. A 6-year-old has just arrived after a dishwasher-tablet alkali powder burst into her right eye. The child is in pain and the eye is shut and watering; the parent briefly rinsed it under the tap at home. The parent is very anxious. [5]

Your tasks are: [5]

1. State and initiate the correct immediate action — copious irrigation, before any examination — and explain to the parent why it must come first. [5]
2. Reassure the parent that the most important treatment is the irrigation they helped start and that delay is the main enemy. [5]
3. Outline the irrigation protocol (fluid, duration, removing particles from under the lids, checking the pH) and the next steps including urgent ophthalmology. [5]
4. Give a clear safety-net and household-chemical-safety advice for the future. [8]

You are not expected to perform a slit-lamp examination before irrigation, to grade the burn before the eye is flushed, or to manage a suspected open globe in this station — the priority is to demonstrate and explain irrigation-first. [8]