World first aid day

We've all heard the phrase 'accidents happen' and it's absolutely correct, accidents do happen. Okay so we tend to call them incidents these days for legal reasons but whatever they're called, people do have mishaps and do get injured. To make life worse people also have a habit of becoming unwell, some more seriously than others.

A few years ago St John Ambulance, in preparation for its 'the difference' campaign, conducted a study that concluded that 150,000 people in the UK died each year in situations that did not need to result in death. The study concentrated on five scenarios: an unconscious patient who is breathing, an unconscious patient who is not breathing, a patient having a heart attack, a patient with a severe bleed and a patient who is choking.

All five scenarios have the potential to result in death, perhaps a few decades ago death was the natural result. This is the 21st century though and there are things that can be done to help people in need - you can give first aid. The study didn't for one moment suggest that all 150,000 would still be alive today if they had been given first aid, but it would have given them a chance and that chance is better than nothing.

First aid doesn't require experts, far from it. The skills aren't difficult to learn but they are skills that can keep the patient going. In all five scenarios, timing was vital. The target time for an ambulance to arrive in life-threatening cases is eight minutes. It doesn't take a great deal of imagination to realise how much someone could deteriorate if they're not breathing for eight minutes, or if they've been bleeding profusely for that time. The omens would not be good. But if you, or anyone else, could just maintain their breathing or stem the bleeding until help arrives, their chance of survival will increase.

Today is World First Aid Day so if there's one thing you do - resolve to save a life. If someone you loved or someone you didn't even know was injured or unwell, wouldn't you want to make a difference? Wouldn't you want to go to bed that night thinking "wow! I saved a life"? I know I would.

For more information on first aid and first aid courses visit the St John Ambulance web site.