2 minute read
The Importance of Basic Life Support
from BSA Today Issue 1
by bsatoday
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It is estimated that each year in the UK there are over 30,000 cardiac arrests suffered away from hospital. One in five people have witnessed someone collapse who requires CPR, but the majority are not able to help.
Strengthening the community response to cardiac arrest by training and empowering more bystanders to perform CPR and by increasing the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) at least doubles the chances of survival and could save thousands of lives each year.
Blue Stream Academy wants to strengthen employee response in delivering better lifesaving treatment to those who require it.
We aim to do this by training and inspiring staff to confidently perform CPR and by increasing skill and confidence levels in using Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs).
Basic life support describes a set of life-saving first aid techniques, that are used in emergency life-threatening situations until the casualty can be cared for professionally, either by paramedics or in hospital.
These techniques can help people who are unconscious, in cardiac arrest, choking or drowning and can mean the difference between life and death.
1 in 5 witness someone collapse who requires CPR, but the majority do not know what to do.
Blue Stream Academy wish to encourage the learning of basic life support and we believe that everyone should get the opportunity to learn these life-saving techniques.
Our Basic Life Support modules are a great resource and can also be used as refresher for those who have already completed manual training.
We have expanded our existing Basic Life Support module to include:-
• Adult Basic Life Support
• Child Basic Life Support
• Infant Basic Life Support
• Automated External Defibrillator Training (AED)
Child Basic Life Support
All of our these modules include training on:
• assessing the situation and checking for a response
• treating an unresponsive breathing casualty and putting them in the recovery position
• treating an unresponsive non-breathing casualty (CPR)
• compression only CPR
• dealing with a choking casualty both mild and severe
An AED is a portable machine that automatically sends an electric shock to the heart muscle to return it to its normal rhythm. Once opened, the AED provides full instructions on how to operate it. Our module includes videos and instructions on the safe use of AEDs.
In any working environment it is vital that there are trained first aiders who can deliver first response care. It is also helpful for everyone to have undertaken Basic Life Support and for them to feel confident in delivering care to an unconscious casualty.
The Life Support and AED modules are accessible on the Blue Stream Academy eLearning suites from the 7th February 2018.
