Brief Summary
This video provides a comprehensive guide to effective first aid, emphasising safety, assessment, and structured care. It covers essential principles, emergency procedures, and techniques for managing various scenarios. Key takeaways include:
- Prioritising scene safety and personal safety before administering aid.
- Understanding the importance of emergency numbers and preparedness.
- Mastering primary and secondary assessment techniques, including ABC vs CAB, SAMPLE history, and AVPU scale.
- Recognising and managing spinal injuries, shock, and other medical emergencies.
Introduction to Applied First Aid
Effective first aid hinges on core principles that ensure actions are impactful and safe during emergencies. Safety is paramount; one must assess the scene for dangers like unstable debris, traffic, or hazardous materials to avoid becoming a victim. Immediately call for emergency services, providing clear details about the location and nature of the emergency. Preparedness is key, so keep emergency numbers readily accessible, whether saved on a phone or displayed in visible locations. Scene management involves the hazards, hello, help method: identify hazards, greet and reassure the patient, and provide immediate care while coordinating help.
Emergency Numbers: Vital Connections
Emergency numbers are vital connections to life-saving services. In medical emergencies, fires, or dangerous situations, these numbers connect you to the necessary help. Preparedness involves making these numbers accessible by saving them in your phone, posting them visibly, or including them in evacuation plans. Understanding which numbers to call and when is equally important; familiarity with local emergency numbers for fire services, medical aid, or disaster relief is crucial.
The Three Safeguards
The three safeguards form the backbone of safe and effective first aid response. Safeguarding yourself is paramount, requiring an assessment of risks and the use of protective gear. Safeguarding the scene involves identifying hazards like fire, electrical dangers, or unstable structures and controlling the environment to prevent further injuries. Safeguarding the patient prioritises their safety by addressing immediate risks, such as moving them away from harm or stabilising their condition.
Scene Safety: Ensuring a Safe Environment
Scene safety is the foundation of effective first aid. Before rushing to help, ensure the area is safe for yourself, the patient, and others. Assess the scene for potential hazards, such as slippery floors, exposed electrical wires, or hostile individuals. If safe, address these hazards, prioritising your own safety. If the scene remains unsafe, consider moving the patient to a safer location, provided it won't worsen their injuries.
Hazards, Hello, Help: A Simple Approach
The hazards, hello, help approach guides initial actions at any emergency scene. First, assess potential risks like fire, chemical spills, or unstable debris, ensuring your safety. Then, approach the patient, introduce yourself, explain that you're there to help, and ask for their consent to provide treatment. Finally, stabilise the patient while waiting for professional assistance, calling for help early and providing specific instructions.
Assessing the Emergency Scene
An emergency scene can be any location where injuries or illnesses occur, each presenting unique challenges. Assessing the scene is critical, focusing on the hazards present and the likelihood of harm. A simple way to calculate risk involves considering probability (how likely is it that someone will get hurt?) and consequence (how severe could the harm be?). This quick mental calculation guides actions, modifying the situation if the risk is too high.
Risk Assessment: Interpreting Risk Ratings
Risk assessment is a critical skill for first aiders, ensuring the response doesn't inadvertently place anyone in greater danger. Harm refers to actual injury, illness, or damage; hazards are anything with the potential to cause harm; and risk is the chance of harm happening when exposed to a hazard. Calculate risk using the formula: risk rating = probability x consequence, with both rated on a scale of 1 to 3. Interpreting risk ratings helps determine whether to proceed, make the situation safer, or stop and modify the situation.
Patient Assessment: Preserving Life
Patient assessment is a critical responsibility, enabling an understanding of the patient's condition and appropriate steps to preserve life, prevent further injury, and promote recovery. It starts with determining if the patient's life is at risk by focusing on the ABCs: Airway, breathing, and circulation. The primary assessment identifies and addresses life-threatening conditions, while the secondary assessment involves a more detailed examination to determine the patient's specific injury or illness.
Primary Assessment: Checking for Responsiveness
The primary assessment involves checking for responsiveness, assessing the airway, checking for breathing, and checking for circulation. Approach the patient, tap their shoulder gently, and ask loudly if they are okay. Look for anything blocking the airway, and if clear, check for signs of breathing. Look for severe, life-threatening bleeding or feel for a pulse to determine if the heart is pumping effectively.
Hands-On Check
Check the scene for hazards such as glass, hostile bystanders, or oncoming cars. If safe, check the person by asking if they are okay and tapping them on the shoulder. If there is no response, call emergency medical services or send a bystander to do so, instructing them to grab an AED if available. Check the airway by tilting the head back and lifting the chin, and check for breathing by looking, listening, and feeling for normal breathing. Check circulation by looking for deadly bleeding and signs of shock.
Recovery Position
After checking ABCs and completing the secondary survey, move an unconscious person to the recovery position, provided the airway is open, the person is breathing, there's no deadly bleeding, and a neck or back injury is not suspected. The modified ha's recovery position is used on an unconscious person with a suspected spinal injury who must be left alone or loose vomit.
ABC vs CAB: Understanding Emergency Response
ABC (Airway, breathing, circulation) and CAB (Circulation, Airway, breathing) are life-saving tools whose application depends on the situation. ABC is best for conscious patients or those showing signs of life, ensuring the airway is clear, stabilising breathing, and addressing circulation issues. CAB is critical for unresponsive patients, particularly those in cardiac arrest, prioritising chest compressions before addressing Airway and breathing.
Secondary Assessment: Disability
After completing the primary assessment, the next critical step is performing a secondary assessment to determine the specific illness or injury. This extends beyond the initial ABC (Airway, breathing, and circulation) and incorporates D for disability, referring to anything hindering the patient, such as an injury or illness. In unfortunate cases, it could also mean identifying when the patient is permanently deceased.
Secondary Assessment: Environment
The secondary assessment framework includes A (Airway), B (Breathing), C (Circulation), D (Disability), and E (Environment/Exposure). Ensure the airway is open and clear, assess breathing, check circulation, identify signs of neurological impairment or potential spinal cord damage, and assess the environment and the patient's exposure to hazards.
Head to Toe Assessment
After completing the primary assessment, the secondary assessment allows for a deeper investigation into the patient's condition. This involves a head-to-toe assessment, looking for visible injuries and gently palpating areas for tenderness. Determine the mechanism of injury to gain insight into what to expect, evaluate skin condition and temperature, ask about the patient's medical history, check pupils, assess capillary refill time, and evaluate the level of consciousness.
Understanding AVPU
The AVPU scale (Alert, Voice, Pain, Unresponsive) is a simple and effective tool for assessing a patient's level of consciousness. If the patient's eyes are open spontaneously and they are aware of their surroundings, they are considered alert. If the patient responds to verbal stimuli, they are responding to voice. If there's no response to verbal stimuli, assess if the patient reacts to painful stimuli. If the patient does not respond to any verbal or painful stimuli, they are considered unresponsive.
AVPU Scale Explained
The AVPU scale is used to assess a patient's mental capacity and alertness. 'A' stands for alert: are they alert, talking back properly, and answering questions concisely? 'V' is for voice: do they spark up or respond when spoken to, but not as well as when alert? 'P' is for pain: do they react to a pain stimulus, like a squeeze at the back of the nail or earlobe? 'U' is for unresponsive: is there no movement or reaction whatsoever?
Understanding DOTS
DOTS (Deformities, Open wounds, Tenderness, Swelling) is a vital mnemonic used to assess injuries quickly and thoroughly during a secondary survey. Deformities are abnormal shapes or structures of the body. Open wounds are visible injuries where the skin has been broken. Tenderness refers to pain felt when pressure is applied to an area. Swelling is caused by soft tissue injuries or fractures.
Injury Assessment
An injury assessment involves a head-to-toe inspection to identify potential injuries. Start at the head, checking for any obvious injuries, blood, or deformities. Feel the spine gently to ensure there's no pain or discomfort. Look in the ears and nose for any fluid or discharge. Assess the eyes, checking pupil size and tracking. Work your way down the body, feeling for any problems, and check the arms and legs for any swelling, cuts, or bruising.
Mechanism of Injury
Understanding the mechanism of injury involves approaching the scene with a clear and methodical mindset. Ensure your own safety first, scanning for hazards. Consider the patient's safety, determining if they need to be moved and if additional resources are necessary. Use the jigsaw approach, collecting pieces of the bigger picture instead of rushing to treat the most obvious injury. Scene clues and bystander input are invaluable for forming a mental image of what has happened.
Mechanisms of Injury Kinetics
Mechanisms of injury kinetics involves understanding what happens and how injuries are sustained from the kinetics of an accident. Safety is the number one priority, followed by patient safety. Use a jigsaw approach, taking a piece-by-piece approach to build a picture of what has happened. Bystander information feedback is crucial, and the wreckage should be assessed to determine potential injuries.
Shock Emergencies
In shock emergencies, assess the patient for signs of shock, such as paleness and delayed capillary refill. Treat by explaining the situation to the patient, elevating their legs, and maintaining their body temperature with blankets or coats. Monitor for regular breathing and be prepared to respond with CPR if they lose breathing or pulse.
Understanding SAMPLE History
SAMPLE (Signs and Symptoms, Allergies, Medications, Pertinent past history, Last oral intake, Events leading up to the accident) is a tool used to gather essential information about a patient's medical history and current condition. Start by asking about signs and symptoms, check for any known allergies, find out what medications the patient is currently taking, ask about any medical history relevant to their current condition, ask when the patient last ate or drank, and determine what happened before the injury or illness.
SAMPLE Assessment
The pneumonic SAMPLE is a way of assessing somebody who's unwell. S stands for signs and symptoms, A for allergies, M for medications, P for pre-existing medical conditions, L for last meal, and E for events. A sign is something you see, while a symptom is something the patient tells you. This information helps decide on the necessary action and provides details for emergency services or family members.
Basic Capillary Refill Assessment
Capillary refill involves applying pressure to an area of the body to force blood out of the capillaries and observing how quickly the area returns to its normal colour. For adults, the most common areas are the fingertips and toes; in children, the forehead or chest. The refill time should be less than 2 seconds for adults and less than 1 second for children. Factors that can affect accuracy include cold extremities and poor lighting conditions.
Capillary Refill Explained
Capillary refill is when blood is squeezed from the capillaries in the body and allowed to refill via the heart's pumping and blood pressures. The main areas for capillary refill are the tips of the fingers, the tips of the toes, the forehead, and the centre of the chest. It's a quick and simple way to check a patient's blood pressure and developing shock.
Assessing Pupil Reactions
When assessing pupil reactions, look at their size, shape, and response to light. Normal pupils are typically equal in size, round, and respond equally to light, constricting when exposed to bright light and dilating in darkness. Dilated pupils could indicate shock, drug use, or head trauma. Anisocoria refers to unequal pupil sizes, which can be a sign of serious conditions.
Spinal Injury
When dealing with a patient suspected of having a spinal injury, treat them as if this is the case until emergency services arrive. Immobilise them by supporting their head and ensuring their neck does not move. If the person vomits or you have to leave them to get help, carefully place them onto their side using a variation of the recovery position that keeps their spine straight.
Spinal Injury: Modified Recovery Position
When dealing with a patient suspected of having a spinal injury, treat them as if this is the case until emergency services arrive. Immobilise them by supporting their head and ensuring their neck does not move. If the person vomits or you have to leave them to get help, carefully place them onto their side using a variation of the recovery position that keeps their spine straight.
Spinal Injury: RTC Mechanism
In a road traffic collision (RTC), assess whether the patient was wearing a seat belt. The seat belt holds the pelvis and upper body in place, but the upper neck still has flexation. If the seat belt is not worn, the head hits the windscreen, breaking the neck back. Look for wreckage, seat belts, and bull's eyes on windscreens. Signs and symptoms include pins and needles and the ability to move.
Spinal Injury: Cervical, Thoracic, Lumber
When dealing with a possible spinal injury, look at the spine in three main sections: the cervical spine (neck), the thoracic spine (mid-back), and the lumber spine (lower back). Injuries to the cervical spine often come from diving into shallow water or whiplash. Thoracic spine injuries can result from high-impact falls. Lumber spine injuries are often injured from heavy lifting or falls onto the lower back.
Spinal Injury: Signs and Symptoms
General signs and symptoms of a spinal injury include severe pain, paralysis or weakness, tingling or numbness, loss of bladder or bowel control, and breathing difficulty. Cervical spine injuries may result from head-first impacts or whiplash. Thoracic spine injuries may result from high-impact falls or crushing injuries. Lumber spine injuries may result from heavy lifting or falls.
Canadian C-Spine Rule
The Canadian C-Spine Rule is an essential tool for assessing possible cervical spine fractures. First, check for high-risk factors such as being over 65, experiencing a dangerous mechanism of injury, or showing neurological deficits. Next, consider low-risk factors such as a minor accident, the ability to sit upright or walk, and no tenderness along the midline of the neck. Then, perform the neck movement test, asking the patient to turn their head 45 degrees to the left and right. Finally, ensure the patient is reliable.
Canadian C-Spine Rule Explained
The Canadian C-Spine Rule is a clinical decision rule used to safely rule out cervical spine fractures in alert, stable patients without the need for radiographic imagery. First, clear any high-risk factors, which would mandate radiography. If these factors are not present, check if the following low-risk factors apply, allowing safe assessment of range of motion. If these do not apply, refer out for radiographs; otherwise, continue by asking the patient to actively rotate the neck.
Canadian C-Spine Rule Flowchart
Study this flowchart to help understand the Canadian spinal injury assessment tool.
Spinal Injuries: Knowledge and Confidence
Spinal injuries are among the most intimidating and difficult emergencies to manage. Understanding the signs, symptoms, and causes of spinal injuries across the cervical, thoracic, and lumber regions enables a clearer assessment and informed decisions. Staying calm and using the knowledge gained can make a real difference in someone's recovery.
Questionnaires
The questionnaires are an essential part of the learning journey. Complete these questions in a notebook to deepen understanding and ensure the ability to apply critical first aid concepts in real-life situations. Take time to work through each question thoughtfully, using examples from the manual and personal knowledge to support answers.
Test Answers
The top priority when arriving at an emergency scene is ensuring scene safety. For the hello step in HHH, you must introduce yourself to the patient, explain your role, and reassure them. ABC stands for Airway, breathing, and circulation and is used for conscious or breathing patients, while CAB (Circulation, Airway, breathing) is prioritised in cardiac arrest scenarios. A secondary assessment is conducted once life-threatening conditions are managed. Common signs of spinal injuries include loss of sensation or tingling in the limbs and tenderness along the spine.
Course Reminders
The course videos are designed to work at your pace. If a video is moving too fast, pause it to take notes or reflect. Rewind and replay sections as many times as needed. Take a break if feeling overwhelmed. The course is only as fast as you need it to be, so take your time and move at a pace that works best for you.
