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First Aid

First Aid

The European Resuscitation Council defines first aid is the initial care provided for an acute illness or injury. It’s aims are to preserve life by providing treatment immediately, alleviate suffering by making the casualty more comfortable (reducing their pain levels, and offering care and attention). Prevent further illness and injury (e.g. by applying a sterile dressing to control blood loss and prevent the risk of infection) and by promoting recovery (e.g. treating the casualty for shock and ringing for an ambulance).

Primary Survey Sequence [DOC 67KB]

Adult Basic Life Support

Early 999 Call: The emergency services should be contacted as soon as a casualty is found unresponsive, before breathing is assessed. Breathing checks should be carried out while on the phone. If able, use the phone’s speaker function to receive guidance while continuing first aid. 

Breathing checks: look (for the rise and fall of the chest), listen (at their mouth for sounds of breathing) and feel for air on your cheek) for no more than 10 seconds.  Then update the emergency services controller.

If the casualty is not breathing / not breathing normally you must start chest compressions without delay.

  1. High-quality chest compressions
    • Start chest compressions as soon as possible.
    • Deliver compressions on the lower half of the sternum (‘in the centre of the chest’).
    • Compress to a depth of at least 5 cm but not more than 6 cm at a rate of 100-120 a minute.
  2. Rescue breaths
    • If you are trained to do so, after 30 compressions, provide 2 rescue breaths.
    • Alternate between providing 30 compressions and 2 rescue breaths.
    • If you are unable or unwilling to provide rescue breath, give continuous chest compressions.
  3. Request one of the Queen Mary Automated External Defibrillators (AED)

Automated External Defibrillators (AED)

  • An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a lightweight, portable device that delivers a controlled electric shock through the chest to the heart, via two electrodes that are fixed to the casualty’s chest.
  • The AED is able to detect the rhythm of the heart, and it can deliver a shock that can restore normal heart rhythm.

An AED should be attached to the casualty as soon as it is available.

Contacting the Emergency Medical Services

  • I the event of life-threatening emergency situations dial 999 and request an ambulance.
  • Inform Security by calling them on 020 7882 3333 and ask them to meet the ambulance and escort the paramedic’s to you.
  • Send a colleague to wait outside the building to meet with Security and the paramedic’s.
  • As a general you must escort the paramedics to the casualty not the casualty to the paramedics.

Life Threatening Bleeding

Uncontrolled bleeding has been identified as the leading cause of preventable deaths following accidental injury. Blood makes up about 7% of our body weight and an average adult has approximately 5 litres of blood in their body.  Time is of the essence to control a  catastrophic bleed. A casualty could haemorrhage up to a litre of blood every minute. After 2 minutes they could have lost up to a third of their blood volume leading to shock that they may never recover from.

First Aid for Life Threatening Bleeding [DOC 1,019KB]

 

First Aiders

In general, the role of a first aider is to administer first aid in all environments, subject to any local restriction and in accordance with their level of qualification. To know how to secure additional help when needed including efficiently and effectively contacting the emergency medical services.  

First Aid Training

There are several class room accredited first aid course along with self-directed e-learning courses.  For full course information please see the HSD Training web page.

First Aid Treatment

Further Information

Queen Mary Policy and procedures

Primary Legislation

  • Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974.
  • The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981.
  • The Social Action, Responsibility & Heroism Act 2015.

For advice and assistance at Queen Mary

contact the H&S Manager / Advisor for your Faculty / PS or the subject lead. 

All HSD staff can be contacted via the HSD Helpdesk.

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