first aider responsibilities at incident scene

Last Updated on December 21, 2021 by Ranga

A trained first aid is responsible for saving the life of the injured person. Many measures are needed to prevent the situation of the victim from getting worse, therefore, here are the first aider responsibilities as follows;

What is a First Aider?

A first aider is a qualified person who is trained to treat the wounded at the initial stage to avoid the situation of casualty becoming further worse.

What are the first aider responsibilities?

Although there are many roles of the first aider at the injured scene most common are checking ABC (Airways, Breathing, Circulation) of the wounded person and providing basic life-saving support.

A – Airway.

Inspect for obstructions on the airway of the victim:

• Place the casualty on their back.
• Turn the head back gently and raise the chin.
• Look for any obstruction
• Clear the blockages with a sweeping motion, make sure that the object does not push in the airway.

What is AVPU?

If you determined the consciousness of the casualty it helps you to make decisions for further treatment. AVPU is the method of checking the level of consciousness of the casualty. The full form of the AVPU is;

1. A = Alert – is the casualty moving or talking? If no, proceed to V
2. V = Voice – is the injured responded to your voice? If no, proceed to P
3. P = Pain – Does the casualty respond to minor pain caused by you? E.g. flick the eyeball, Rub the sternum with knuckles. If no, proceed to U
4. U = Unresponsive – Assume that the casualty is unconscious and unresponsive

For a serious injury, it is important for the active emergency response, because, the time of qualified medical present is a factor in the survivability of the casualty. So, as a security guard, you have to do the following things at the scene of critical injury.

• Shout and send for help
• Dial 999 or police if possible
• Do not leave a casualty that is not breathing, or has suffered cardiac arrest

B – Breathing.

Look listen and feel for normal breathing:

• Place your ear next to the casualties‟ mouth to listen
• Look down to the chest to see the rise and fall during breathing
• Place a hand on the chest to feel the chest move during breathing
• Take no longer than 10 seconds to perform this step

C – Circulation.

If the casualty is not breathing, and showing no sign of life:

• Conduct CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation)
• If possible, send somebody to get an AED
• Provide 30 Chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths
• Continue this cycle until help arrives

How to conduct CPR on the children?

• Tilt the head back to open the airway
• Make a seal with your mouth over the babies nose and mouth
• Blow for 1 second, the chest should visibly rise to
• Give 30 compressions, with 2 fingers to the center of the baby‟s chest

What is Primary care?

Primary care is the collection of acts that the first aider carries out to provide basic life support (BSL)

What is Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and how to use it?

AED is an electrical stimulation machine to the heart it attempts to trigger a normal rhythm. By using it, increases the chance of survivability of the cardiac arrest patient.  It is very simple to use and follow the following instruction once you turn it on.

• Exposing the casualties‟ bare chest
• Placing adhesive pads onto the chest
• The AED will analyze the casualties heart rhythm

If the AED determines that a shock is required, it will automatically charge up and tell you when to press the button to deliver the shock

Once the shock has been delivered, the AED will prompt you to check for normal breathing and heartbeat. If not, you will be reminded to resume CPR

What are the safety precautions for using AED?

• Do not touch the casualty while the AED is analyzing the heartbeat – this will interfere with electrical signals
• Be aware of water when using the AED, for example at a pool or in a bathroom – This presents an electrocution hazard

What is the recovery position?

The recovery position is used to keep unconscious casualties’‟ airway open and allow normal breathing. Follow the following steps to keep adult in recovery position;

• Kneel down next to the injured person
• Place the arm nearest to you across the casualties‟ body, with the palm facing upwards
• Take their other arm and bring it across the chest so that the backside of their hand is touching the cheek nearest to you
• Hold that hand in position, and with your other hand, lift the far side knee up until their foot is flat on the floor
• Roll them onto the side, pulling the bent leg towards you

 Recovery position for a baby

It is hard to put the kid in a recovery position if it is conscious and hurt. Here are something to do for laying the baby in the recovery position;

If a baby normally breathes but does not respond, place them down in your arms, and tilt their head downward. It helps the airways to remain open to prevent choking. Ask for immediate medical support.

Conclusion: Every workplace may have a team of first aid providers but the security guards should know some initial live-saving technic. The First aider responsibilities are can be various but the most common are dealt with by ABC as I have mentioned above.

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