If you were walking down the road and someone collapsed in front of you – would you know what to do? The scary fact is that an overwhelming number of us simply wouldn’t know what to do – other than call 999. While increasing waiting times for emergency help continue to increase, it’s becoming more and more essential to know how to perform basic first aid such as CPR.
While this scenario sounds quite dramatic and more like something out of a film than a situation you’re likely to encounter while running errands on a Tuesday afternoon, it’s also a completely possible situation. You just never know what is around the corner – and this is why having some basic first aid training is essential and could literally save a life.
The Department of Health and Social Care recently announced that increased funding would be available to organisations looking to install a public access defibrillator and it’s estimated that the funding will allow for an extra 1000 defibrillators to be installed in communities across the country. From local parks to shopping centres, they’ll be placed in locations that are easily accessible if they’re needed.
These devices take the worry out of knowing how to use them, or whether the patient needs them – they talk you through the entire process from telling you where to place the pads on the patient’s chest, to when to continue CPR. As the British Heart Foundation says, ‘Anyone can use a defibrillator and you don’t need training. Once you turn it on, it will give clear instructions on how to attach the defibrillator pads. The device checks the heart rhythm and will only tell you to shock if it’s needed. You can’t shock someone accidentally.’ It’s easy to see why these are such a valuable thing to have freely available to those who may need it.
If you’re with a patient that you believe may need a defibrillator, as always the first course of action is to instruct someone to call 999. As a First Aider, you may often be the only person at the scene with the knowledge of what to do, and emergency situations are naturally stressful meaning that although others around you may have the knowledge, it may go completely out of their head in the moment. If you can’t easily see a defibrillator (they’re often bright yellow so not something that tend to blend in), then the operator will be able to direct you to your nearest one if it’s within easy reach and talk you through accessing it.
However, sometimes there won’t be one within easy reach or it may be out of action and this is why it’s so important to make sure that you know what to do if this ends up being the case – while it is estimated that there are over 10,000 public use defibrillators across the UK, that’s not actually that many when you look at the population of the UK.
I recently spoke to online publication LondonWorld.com after tv personality Mark Wright had appeared on This Morning talking about the importance of knowing CPR, and how he had been able to use his knowledge to try and help a man who had suffered a cardiac arrest. In the article I detailed exactly how you should approach the situation, and how to administer CPR. If you’re not sure, or a little rusty, I recommend reading it or if you’ve got 10 minutes – watching the video that Mark filmed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHqzZgCkisk
Of course, the best option will always be formal first aid training – and that’s what I’m here for. I can offer courses in the workplace, a community venue or blend online learning with practical hands on training, just get in touch with your requirements:
Phone : 07818 416448
Email : kayla@kayla