Everyone should learn at least the basic first aid techniques. You may need to use
them at any time at home, at school, or work or even while you're travelling. Knowing
what to do can make the difference to a person's recovery and you could even save
their life.
First aid
The care given before emergency medical help arrives - can literally mean the difference between life and death. But knowing the correct thing to do if someone has a nosebleed or cut is also important.
A blocked airway can kill someone in three to four minutes, but it can take more than eight minutes for an ambulance to arrive. So a simple procedure such as opening someone's airway can save their life while they're waiting for emergency medical help.
Knowing what to do will allow you to react rapidly if an accident does happen. The key aims of first aid can be summarised in three key points:
- Preserve life - the overriding aim of all medical care, including first aid, is to save lives.
- Prevent further harm - this covers both external factors, such as moving a patient away from any cause of harm, and applying first aid techniques to prevent worsening of the condition, such as applying pressure to stop a bleed becoming dangerous.
- Promote recovery - first aid also involves trying to start the recovery process from the illness or injury, and in some cases might involve completing a treatment, such as in the case of applying a plaster to a small wound.
First aid training is generally provided by attending a course, typically leading to certification. Due to regular changes in procedures and protocols, based on updated clinical knowledge, and to maintain skill, attendance at regular refresher courses or re-certification is often necessary.
First aid training is often available through community organizations such as the Red Cross and St. John Ambulance, or through commercial providers, who will train people for a fee. This commercial training is most common for training of employees to perform first aid in their workplace.
Check out www.redcross.org.uk and www.sja.org.uk to find a training course near you.
Training will cover key life-saving skills and provides an opportunity to practice your newly acquired skills. Basic first aid courses focus on the most common accidents and situations. Learn how to treat common injuries like wounds, sprains, burns and scalds. You'll also learn how to deal with emergency situations - how to help someone who is choking, for example, and how to give CPR. First aid training can give you the confidence to take charge of a situation, and may help you save a life.
Becoming a member of a volunteer first aid organisation is a great way to learn first aid and to keep your skills up to date. Why not volunteer with your local St John Ambulance?
Or why not learn first aid skills together as a family?
South Thames College also run First Aid for Emergency and First Aid for Babies and Children courses visit www.south-thames.ac.uk
You never know when an emergency will occur, but when one does, having first aid training and skills can help to save the life of someone you love. First aid skills are simple and easy to remember and there are many situations where pain, disability and recovery times can be greatly reduced by quick, simple and careful first aid management.
Life saving procedures
If someone is injured in an accident, you should:
1) First check that you and the casualty are not in any danger and, if so, make the situation safe,
2) When safe, assess the casualty and dial 999 or 112 for an ambulance (if necessary), and
3) Carry out basic first aid.
Assessing a casualty
As a first aider the priorities when dealing with a casualty are always the same:
Just remember ABC
Airway
Breathing
Circulation
A primary survey of a casualty will establish your priorities. When dealing with an unconscious casualty you should open and maintain their airway as your first priority. If the airway should become obstructed, possibly by the tongue falling to the back of the throat, then the casualty will be unable to breathe and this will lead to death if untreated.
If the casualty is breathing, the simple procedure of placing the casualty in to the recovery position should ensure that the airway will remain clear of obstructions.
If the casualty has stopped breathing you can assist them by performing a combination of chest compressions and rescue breaths. You breathe out enough oxygen to potentially keep the casualty alive until the emergency services arrive, the oxygen you breathe into the casualty will need to then be pumped around the body using chest compressions.
It is important to remember that in any life threatening situation the emergency services should be called as soon as breathing or absence of breathing has been identified. First aid is not medical treatment, and cannot replace what a doctor can do. It simply involves making common sense decisions to help injured people.
In an emergency, you should always seek medical assistance first by calling 999 (or 112 across Europe) to ask for an ambulance, and then take appropriate steps to maintain life until help arrives.
The home is the most common place for an accident to occur but an emergency can happen anywhere - on the bus, at a restaurant or in the office.
Let’s face it, being able to help save someone’s life is pretty impressive. And if you do learn this skill, the person you help is statistically unlikely to be a stranger.
