The need for basic life support and emergency support

You find yourself in a situation where there is someone who needs help to stay alive. These situations happen rarely in our lives, unless we are a part of the medical profession. Basic life support can be needed when someone has had an accident, or stopped breathing for reasons such as heart attack, choking, or sudden collapse. Life support at the scene of the accident is vital to the ongoing health and survival of the victim. There are several life support systems that can be used, and the resuscitation council has lots of booklets and informational courses on what to do in the event of someone needing resuscitation. This article will give you a brief outline of some ways in which you as the onlooker can help prevent further damage being caused to a victim of an accident. They are simple and easy to follow guidelines, and important skills like these could potentially save someones life.

For our bodies to be able to function, it is essential we have a good supply of oxygen to all parts of the body. The brain is an important area, as it can be damaged severely when it is deprived of oxygen for any length of time. There is a chain of survival which is recommended by the resuscitation council that you can follow to try and stop the brain becoming damaged in the event that someone stops breathing. Your prompt actions will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the recovery, and life of the person involved in the accident. Someone who has had a cardiac arrest, and their heart has stopped pumping, can be saved by us as individuals learning certain basic life support techniques.

The chain of survival is a term used by the resuscitation council for the actions which are required to give the patient involved in an accident the best chances of survival. These actions need to be dealt with immediately, as time is not on the victims side, and every second is vital in saving someones life. We can help by providing the first two links in this chain which are:

• It is wise to first check if it is safe to approach the casualty, and then check if the patient is breathing. You should place your ear over the patients mouth and listen for ten seconds, shout at the patient, and try to get a response. Shout for help, if there is anyone around ask them to ring the emergency services, and then check the patients airways. If there is no sign of life then CPR should be given. This applies to anyone who has stopped breathing. You will know if someone is choking, and the procedure for this is different in the respect you will need to remove the object of obstruction. Details of this will be written in another article. If you begin CPR, and the patient comes around then you should put them in the recovery position.

• Next you need to recognise what the emergency is, such as heart attack, choking, drowning or collapse. The next thing you must do is ring the emergency services if you have not found someone else to do this already. The numbers for the UK are 999, and 112. If you have a mobile phone it is well worth noting that 112 works much better, as lots of mobiles have difficulty connecting to 999. So remember the number, put it in your phone, ring 112.

• You can then try to keep the patient alive by using CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, until the ambulance arrives with a defibrillator. This machine will give a controlled shock to the patient which will then in turn start the heart.
• The resuscitation council and the British heart foundation offer courses for CPR, which I myself attended and found the information very valuable.
• If you are familiar with CPR you will give the patient 30 chest compression,s and two breaths until medical helps arrives. It is unlikely in the event that your patient has suffered a heart attack that they will come around from you following this procedure, but rest assured you are keeping the heart pumping, and sending a supply of oxygen to the brain. Do not stop, as survival rates are still good even after 45 minutes of giving CPR.

Just a brief recap to help you remember.

1. Check it is safe to approach the patient.
2. Check for any response from the patient.
3. If there is no response shout for help.
4. Open the airways by tilting the head back.
5. Call 999, or 112.
6. 30 chest compressions.
7. 2 breaths, 30 compressions.
8. Continue until help arrives.
9. If you do not wish to give mouth to mouth, then continue with chest compressions alone.

It is very difficult to show someone how to do CPR online, but in my next article I will be tackling this as part of my mission to make everyone aware of the life support you could give to someone just by learning basic life support, resuscitation, and emergency support for victims of such traumas as described in this article.