What is First Aid? The very thought of the phrase alone may bring some people out in a cold sweat! The potential of having to leap into action in an emergency is enough to get anyone’s heart rate up. First Aid is the term used to describe the first person on the scene of an accident or incident and more importantly what they should do to help. It’s impossible to cover A-Z of First Aid in one day, never mind one article; so as a substitute here is my summary account of the Emergency First Aid at Work course I did which took place on Thursday 25^th August 2011 at Bedford College.

Chris Watts, employed by Bedford College was the assessor for a group of 8 people who came from a range of work environments; Angling, Engineering, Early Years Child Care, Mental Health and Retail sectors. The nature of the course is practical with a short multiple choice style question paper at the end to ensure that you understand the theory.

Like other medical terminology, First Aid often gets talked about in letters – initials or acronyms which are good memory aids. Below are two examples used to prompt First Aiders in giving the appropriate treatment.

The 3 P’s are Key

Preserve – to preserve life and keep yourself and the casualty safe is the first priority in any situation.

Prevent – to prevent any further danger or injury. This would involve removing hazards such as stopping traffic or turning off power supplies.

Promote – to promote recovery means to reassure the person who is hurt. Giving reassurance to a person having a heart attack can greatly improve their chances of survival in life threatening cases.

The next phrase to remember is DRAB or Dr Ab, if a male with a six pack helps jog your memory.

D – stands for DANGER. It is vital that you check the surroundings are safe for you to approach the casualty so that you remain able to help and not endanger yourself.

R – is for RESPONSE where you would shout to the casualty “Hello, can you hear me?”, directing your voice in each ear in turn in case the person is deaf. A gentle shake on their shoulders can also be tried.

A – is for AIRWAYS. To check a person’s airway here’s what to do:

1)      Lift their head back so the chin is tilted up.

2)      Place you ear close to the casualty’s mouth and look down towards their chest

DO THIS FOR 10 SECONDS.

3)      If there is NO sign of breathing it’s time to call an ambulance.

B – is for BREATHING and if there is no sign of it then it is time to perform CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation). 30 compressions are performed in the middle of the chest followed by 2 breaths into the casualty’s mouth whilst pinching their nose and their head still tilted back. These actions are performed until help arrives. It is important not to continue if you become tired, so if there are other people around to take over this is an advantage.

*The above description is purely a summary of what was learnt on the Emergency First Aid at Work Course. In emergency situations with casualties who are not breathing, consult medical professionals by calling 999 or 112 in areas with no signal.

After a very dramatic start to the day, where the only ice breaker for us was to be introduced to Annie, (it seems more real if we give the dummy a name) on whom we performed the DRAB stages described above, everything seemed less daunting as the day went on. A couple of the female participants commented that it would have been useful to have a GCSE in Drama due to the role play nature of learning. However, after having a couple of goes “saving” Annie, everyone felt more comfortable and confident with the CPR procedure. Other content covered was:

         Recovery Position

         First Aid Box

         Wounds

         Shock

         Internal Bleeding

         Choking

         Splinters

         Nose bleeds

         Burns

         Epilepsy

         Recording and Reporting incidents

Phew...and breathe! A lot of this is really serious stuff and of course it is impossible to deliver such important information without practical demonstrations. Luckily, I think our instincts take over to deal with such things effectively. One final thing I’ll share with you is the “very hands on approach” to learning how to help someone who is choking. In order to get a feel of the backslaps and abdominal thrusts (previously called the Heimlich manoeuvre), we were given a Ghost Busters style jacket. This is something new, introduced since the last First Aid Course I did which was in 2007.

The Emergency First Aid at Work is one of many training courses available at Bedford College. From having done the course, I would say it is suitable for everyone. All workplaces and colleagues would benefit from having an awareness of First Aid practice and is particularly handy for anyone who is a parent or works with children as kids are the ones who tend to get cuts and grazes through playing and other activities. For more information visit http://www.bedford.ac.uk/.