Basic First Aid First
As we discussed last post, we will continue with the 3 points of basic first aid:
- First – protection. Further damage can occur through mechanical impact, smoke, fire, explosion or electrical hazard. First aid helpers should protect themselves first and foremost, then concentrate on the victim. The location of the accident – if it was an accident – should be clearly signaled to avoid further casualties. Only move the victim if it is absolutely necessary to preserve his life. Moving an injured person can cause serious harm.
- Second – Competent first aid care. Check if the casualty is conscious, breathing, and has a pulse. Lie the casualty down sideways, if that can’t cause further damage. Ask the casualty for any symptoms, if the victim is conscious. This information may be extremely useful if he falls unconscious. In the case of wounds, do NOT remove any large objects from wounds. Treating wounds requires extensive professional training. Search for severe external bleeding and try to stop it. Although treating bleeding requires additional first aid training, any compression of the wound is better than letting the blood flow. Numerous techniques can -and should- be learned by everyone in a first aid help course. Certified first aiders can control bleeding, open the airways, perform CPR and chest compressions and many, many other life saving measures.
- Third – alert the emergency services. Call the emergency services and inform them clearly about the exact location, about what happened, how many persons are involved, and what first aid was provided so far. Try to provide as much relevant information as possible. The address alone sometimes doesn’t suffice. The emergency services have to know exactly where you are within a building.
These are just a few of the suggestions for basic first aid first response on a scene. It is advisible to seek further first aid training whenever it is offered – the life you save could be your own or your loved ones!
First Aid Skills Save Mom’s Life
A schoolboy was hailed a hero after using first aid training learned at school to save his mother when she collapsed and gashed her head at the family home.
Twelve-year-old Brandon Flanighan stayed calm and remembered the lifesaving lessons from the young first-aider course after he and his sister Lara, 13, found their mum Jacqueline, 44, lying semi-conscious in a pool of blood in the kitchen.
They pulled her onto the sofa, where Brandon put her in the recovery position and raised her legs, all the time talking to her to keep her awake and stop her from passing out again.
Brandon applied pressure to his mum’s bleeding head wound with a clean tea towel – while Lara called for help – and stayed with her until his dad James, 44, and an ambulance crew arrived, giving paramedics a detailed description of what had happened.
Now Brandon, who did the first aid course at Newminister Middle School in Morpeth, before Christmas, has been nominated by the St John Ambulance service for a national award which recognises young people who have used the training to help save a life in a real emergency.
The drama unfurled when Jacqueline, a legal secretary at a Morpeth solicitors’ firm, got up early at the family home in Pegswood, where she was recovering from a foot operation.
She was walking into the kitchen when she collapsed to the floor, suffering concussion and a gash to the head.
She was found by her children about 15 minutes later, lying in a pool of blood.
It was then that Brandon calmly utilised the training he had received on the St John Ambulance Northumbria first aid course.
Yesterday Jacqueline said: “My head was bleeding profusely and I was drifting in and out of consciousness.
If Brandon hadn’t been there, having done the St John Ambulance course and knowing exactly what to do, I could have died.
“I am so proud of him and I can’t speak about it without crying. I would love him to get recognition for what he has done, and I would urge any parent whose child is given the chance to take part in this wonderful course to seize the opportunity with both hands.
“These are skills which really can save a life, and which everyone should know.” James, a chef at Longhirst Hall near Morpeth, had left early for work on the day of the drama, leaving Brandon and Lara to cope alone when their mum collapsed and hit her head on the floor.
Jacqueline, who is diabetic, said: “I was aware of Lara’s voice and I felt the coldness of the floor.
“In my head I assumed I was dead and in a morgue. I was in pain and was sure I must have died. Lara called Brandon and pulled me onto the sofa.
“He came into the room and was so calm and immediately started talking to me, telling me what had happened and what he was about to do.
“I just wanted to go to sleep but obviously his training had taught him that because of my head injury that would be really dangerous, and to keep me awake. I didn’t realise at the time how brilliant my children were, but looking back they were amazing.
“There was a lot of blood and it was a very scary situation, and yet my son transformed into this calm young man talking to me and acting as if he were a trained doctor.
“All I have is a bump on my head and a scar. Without Brandon who knows if I would even be here.”
Brandon has been nominated for the national award by Peter Lane, schools’ liaison officer for St John Ambulance Northumbria.
He said: “Brandon behaved brilliantly and did exactly what he was trained to do.
“His story is a real indication of why first aid is so important and how it can potentially be the difference between life and death.”
First Aid Training People With Disabilities
First aid training people with disabilities may make some people wonder if it is possible. After all, these adults with learning difficulties find it a task to do daily hygiene and we expect them to know the rigors of first aid first?
But there are some adults in the UK who set out to prove the skeptics wrong. And with awesome results.
The three week first aid course taught 20 participants, ranging in age from 22 to 69, basic first aid. As the article states, “…….Now the students are proficient in resuscitation, recognizing danger in a casualty, dealing with scalds and burns and calling for help…..”
Taking the course raised the self esteem of the participants, and the first aid training for people with disabilities was a success.
Read the entire article here
St. John Ambulance
St. John Ambulance – what is it? What does it offer? How do I take the courses? How do I get certified, or recertified?
The St. John Ambulance offers a variety of programs including babysitting courses, first aid and CPR training, and includes therapy dog programs. Some financial support to run these courses is through the United Way, and it goes to support therapy dogs and training initiatives.
These training initiatives include the Cadets program, which helps youth ages 11-15 develop community service experience as well as their first aid and safety skills. This safety-oriented first aid program is taught to elementary school students in Grades 1, 4 and 8.
The therapy dog program is comprised of volunteers and canine companions, who visit the sick and elderly in Care homes and Hospitals.
A new pilot project involving mental first aid training is also being developed.
For more information on any of these programs, or the St. John Ambulance in Canada, visit www.sja.ca.
Mental Health First Aid
Mental Health First Aid is the issue in today’s post. The pilot project to be introduced in St. John NB Canada in September 2009 will train 50 teachers, who will become the first line of help for students suffering from anxiety or depression until they can get the professional help they need.
But, as this article states, the mental health first aid program originated in Australia. It was brought to Canada through Alberta Mental Health, and is now being adapted to the New Brunswick program.
Standing on the view that, though we give first aid training to people to help an injured person before medical help arrives, rarely do we give training in mental health problems. And that’s why it’s called Mental Health First Aid.
The course trains people to assist someone in a mental health situation, or who is developing a mental disorder. It teaches how to listen non-judgmentally, to encourage a person to get appropriate professional help, and to encourage self-help strategies. It has been proven, from controlled trials, that it increases knowledge and reduces the stigma and, most importantly, that it increases supportive action for people with mental health issues.”
And this year, November 4 in St. John, NB, Canada, a benefit concert is planned, proceed to go to this worthy cause, mental health first aid.
Read more about it here