First Aid Training / BLS

Purpose

Consider These Facts:

• 25% of all emergency room visits can be avoided with basic first aid and CPR certification
• Sudden cardiac arrest represents 13% of all workplace deaths
• Nearly 5 million workers are injured on the job every year
• 75% of all out-of-hospital heart attacks happen at home

Looking at the above figures, it is pertinent that people are trained in first aid techniques. We have 2 levels of First Aid training. Basic course is for workers and advanced course is for managers. Basic Life support (BLS) is another dedicated course for CPR and AED.

Target Audience

First Aid is intended for all industrial workers and public in general.

BLS is intended to be for anyone who needs to know the basic principles of CPR, AED usage and other primary methods of lifesaving skills. BLS is often performed in out-of-hospital situations, and may not always be performed by a healthcare professional. While BLS is often required for medical professionals, BLS / CPR courses are commonly completed by teachers, coaches, lifeguards, babysitters, and more.

Basic First Aid Training – (Level 1)

Basic First Aid

• C.P.R. chest compression & mouth to mouth breathing for adult, child and infant.
• A.E.D.“Heart Start” Machine for restarting the heart after cardiac arrest.
• AMBU Bag Artificial Breathing Machine for giving air
• Suffocation
  Choking : Back Blows,
  Abdominal Thrusts (Heimlich’s Manouvre),
  Chest Compressions,
  Drowning : Rescue and First Aid,
  Smoke and Fire : Rescue and First Aid
• Head Injury and Stroke
  Conscious Patient, Unconscious Patient, Recovery Position.
• Shocks
  Electric Shock, Hysterical (Emotional) Shock, Cardio-Respiratory Failure
• Wounds
  Types Of Wounds, Cleaning And Dressing, Bandages And Slings
• Bleeding
  Direct Pressure, Indirect Pressure Points, Amputations
• Fractures
  Identification And Fixing Of All Fractured Bones
• Muscle And Joint Injuries
  Muscle Strain And Rupture, Muscle Cramps, Joint Sprains And Dislocations
• Burns
  Degree, Location, Area, Minor And Major Burns And Their First Aid, Chemical And Acid Burns
• Heart Attack
  Signs, Symptoms, And First Aid
• Allergic Reactions And Shock(Anaphylaxis) Causes, Identification And First Aid
• Poisons
  Types And First Aid, Dog Bite (Rabies) Snake Bite, Scorpion, Bee Stings
• Heat Stroke And Hypothermia (Frost Bite)
  Signs And Emergency First Aid
• Diabetes And Hypoglycaemia (Low Sugar)
  Signs And Emergency First Aid Alcoholism
• Transportation Of Patient
  Hand Seats, Stretcher Carry.

Basic Life Support (BLS)

Basic life support (BLS) is the level of medical care which is used for victims of life-threatening illnesses or injuries until they can be given full medical care at a hospital.
It can be provided by trained medical personnel, including emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and by laypersons who have received BLS training.
BLS is generally used in the pre-hospital setting, and can be provided without medical equipment.

All healthcare providers are trained in BLS. And it’s just that – the basic first steps in stabilizing a patient. The primary goal of the responder is to stabilize the patient until he or she can be addressed by a first responder or taken to a hospital for further treatment.

BLS can be conducted without drugs, invasive procedures or medical equipment. As such, it consists of techniques like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or opening a patient’s airway via the “head tilt” technique.

The BLS course covers the following topics:

• Administration of adult, child and infant CPR
• Support for conscious and unconscious choking victims of all ages
• Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and how they are used in emergencies
• The importance of breathing barriers, bag valve masks and two-rescuer CPR
• Cardiopulmonary emergencies and special resuscitation scenarios

Advanced First Aid Training – (Level 2)

Teaching Methods

Training programs incorporate the following principles:

■ Basing the curriculum on a consensus of scientific evidence where available
■ Having trainees develop “hands-on” skills through the use of mannequins and partner practice;
■ Having appropriate first-aid supplies and equipment available;
■ Exposing trainees to acute injury and illness settings as well as to the appropriate response through the use of visual aids;
■ Including a course information resource for reference both during and after training;
■ Allowing enough time for emphasis on commonly occurring situations;
■ Emphasizing skills training and confidence-building over classroom lectures;
■ Emphasizing quick response to first-aid situations.

Preparing to Respond to a Health Emergency

The training program includes instruction or discussion in the following:

■ Prevention as a strategy in reducing fatalities, illnesses and injuries;
■ Interacting with the local EMS system;
■ Maintaining a current list of emergency telephone numbers (police, fire, ambulance, poison control) accessible by all employees;
■ Understanding the legal aspects of providing first-aid care, including Good Samaritan legislation, consent, abandonment, negligence, assault and battery, State laws and regulations;
■ Understanding the effects of stress, fear of infection, panic; how they interfere with performance; and what to do to overcome these barriers to action;
■ Learning the importance of universal precautions and body substance isolation to provide protection from blood borne pathogens and other potentially infectious materials. Learning about personal protective equipment – gloves, eye protection, masks, and respiratory barrier devices. Appropriate management and disposal of blood-contaminated sharps and surfaces; and awareness of OSHA’s Blood borne Pathogens standard.

Assessing the Scene and the Victim(s)

The training program includes instruction in the following:

■ Assessing the scene for safety, number of injured, and nature of the event;
■ Assessing the toxic potential of the environment and the need for respiratory protection;
■ Establishing the presence of a confined space and the need for respiratory protection and specialized training to perform a rescue;
■ Prioritizing care when there are several injured;
■ Assessing each victim for responsiveness, airway patency (blockage), breathing, circulation, and medical alert tags;
■ Taking a victim’s history at the scene, including determining the mechanism of injury;
■ Performing a logical head-to-toe check for injuries;
■ Stressing the need to continuously monitor the victim;
■ Emphasizing early activation of EMS;
■ Indications for and methods of safely moving and rescuing victims;
■ Repositioning ill/injured victims to prevent further injury..

Responding to Life-Threatening Emergencies

The training program is designed or adapted for the specific worksite and includes first-aid instruction in the following:

■ Establishing responsiveness;
■ Establishing and maintaining an open and clear airway;
■ Performing rescue breathing;
■ Treating airway obstruction in a conscious victim;
■ Performing CPR;
■ Using an AED;
■ Recognizing the signs and symptoms of shock and providing first aid for shock due to illness or injury;
■ Assessing and treating a victim who has an unexplained change in level of consciousness or sudden illness;
■ Controlling bleeding with direct pressure;
■ Poisoning
Ingested poisons: alkali, acid, and systemic poisons.
Inhaled poisons: carbon monoxide; hydrogen sulfide; smoke; and other chemical fumes, vapors, and gases. Assessing the toxic potential of the environment and the need for respirators;
Knowledge of the chemicals at the worksite and of first aid and treatment for inhalation or ingestion;
Effects of alcohol and illicit drugs so that the first-aid provider can recognize the physiologic and behavioral effects of these substances.
■ Recognizing asphyxiation and the danger of entering a confined space without appropriate respiratory protection. Additional training is required if first-aid personnel will assist in the rescue from the confined space.
■ Responding to Medical Emergencies :
Chest pain; Stroke; Breathing problems; Anaphylactic reaction; Hypoglycemia in diabetics taking insulin; Seizures; Pregnancy complications; Abdominal injury;
Reduced level of consciousness; Impaled object.

Responding to Non-Life-Threatening Emergencies

The training program is designed for the specific worksite and includes first-aid instruction for the management of the following:

■ Wounds : Assessment and first aid for wounds including abrasions, cuts, lacerations, punctures, avulsions, amputations and crush injuries; Principles of wound care, including infection precautions; Principles of body substance isolation, universal precautions and use of personal protective equipment.
■ Burns : Assessing the severity of a burn; Recognizing whether a burn is thermal, electrical, or chemical and the appropriate first aid; Reviewing corrosive chemicals at a specific worksite, along with appropriate first aid.
■ Temperature Extremes : Exposure to cold, including frostbite and hypothermia; Exposure to heat, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
■ Musculoskeletal Injuries : Fractures; Sprains, strains, contusions and cramps; Head, neck, back and spinal injuries; Appropriate handling of amputated body parts.
■ Eye injuries : First aid for eye injuries; First aid for chemical burns.
■ Mouth and Teeth Injuries : Oral injuries; lip and tongue injuries; broken and missing teeth; The importance of preventing aspiration of blood and/or teeth.
■ Bites and Stings : Human and animal bites; Bites and stings from insects; instruction in first-aid treatment