Basic First Aid for the Community and Workplace

Section 1 — Introduction Basic First Aid Emergency scene. At work, injuries and illnesses kill more than two million people in the world each year. That’s one death every fifteen seconds… or six thousand people a day. Safe practices and healthy choices at work, home, and play can prevent many injuries, illnesses, diseases, and deaths. However, once injury or sudden illness has occurred, providing effective first aid can make the difference between life and death; rapid versus prolonged recovery; and temporary versus permanent disability. This program focuses on what you must know and do in order to provide confident, effective first aid care. When Caring for Children Consent must be gained from a parent or legal guardian. When life-threatening situations exist and the parent or legal guardian is not available, first aid care should be given based on implied consent. When Caring for Older Persons An elderly person suffering from a disturbance in normal mental functioning, like Alzheimer’s disease, may not understand your request for consent. Consent must be gained from a family member or legal guardian. When life-threatening situations exist and a family member or legal guardian is not available for consent, first aid care should be given based on implied consent. Legal Aspects of Providing First Aid The Good Samaritan principle prevents someone who has voluntarily helped another in need from being sued for ‘wrongdoing.’ Since governments want to encourage people to help others, they pass specific “Good Samaritan” laws or apply the principle to common laws. You are generally protected from liability as long as: • You are reasonably careful, • You act in “good faith” (not for a reward), • You do not provide care beyond your skill level. If you decide to help an ill or injured person, you must not leave them until someone with equal or more emergency training takes over – unless of course, it becomes dangerous for you to stay. Use Common Sense There is no evidence there has ever been a single successful lawsuit in the United States against a person providing first aid in good faith. Still, it is necessary to use common sense. Never attempt skills that exceed your training. Don’t move a victim unless their life is in danger. Call for an ambulance immediately, even if you decide not to give first aid. Always ask a responsive victim for permission before giving care. Once you have started first aid, don’t stop until qualified help arrives. Introduction Basic First Aid for the Community and Workplace 1 This training guide is provided online for individual use only. Reprinting for classroom distribution is prohibited. Consent Consent means permission. A responsive adult must agree to receive first aid care. “Expressed Consent” means the victim gives his or her permission to receive care. To get consent, first identify yourself. Then tell the victim your level of training and ask if it’s okay to help. “Implied Consent” means that permission to perform first aid care on an unresponsive victim is assumed. This is based on the idea that a reasonable person would give their permission to receive lifesaving first aid if they were able.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Basic First Aid for the Community and Workplace

Basic First Aid for the Community and Workplace Contents Basic First Aid Emergency Action Steps Severe Bleeding and Shock Major Wounds Minor Wounds Burns Bites and Stings Dental Injuries Eye and Nose Injuries Injuries to Limbs Injuries to the Spine Head Injury Sudden Illness Specific Conditions Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke Endnotes About This Program

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.