Chapter
7 Curative Health Programme
The Curative Health Programme This section deals with the curative aspects of the health programme of a home. Even though the main thrust of the programme is on preventive and promotive measures, it is essential that the health care workers be well trained to deal with some basic problems. This programme is divided into two aspects: •• ••
First Aid Programme Common Childhood Illnesses
First-Aid: Dealing with Emergencies10 First-aid is the immediate treatment given to a patient of an accident, sudden illness and other emergencies before regular medical help is provided. Therefore, it provides the initial care for any illness or injury. Any individual can be trained in first-aid and these skills can prove to be life saving. This section discusses some general principles of first-aid. There are three objectives of first-aid: To preserve life To prevent further injury and deterioration of the condition To put the injured child under medical cover at the earliest In the home situation, all staff should have had first-aid education as part of their induction training. The first-aider must have a basic understanding of what the vital body functions are and what the consequence would be if they were damaged or not functioning. There are some basic principles that the first-aider should follow – s/he should be calm, observe the situation and assess it carefully, identify the nature of illness and act quickly. The child should not be left alone nor should there be any crowd around him/her. The first-aider should instruct someone responsible to call for medical help and immediately provide firstaid. First-aid kits should be adequately stocked at all times and should be accessible to all staff and anyone else who has received first-aid training (see Box 7).
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This module touches upon some emergencies that need immediate first-aid but every home should have first-aid modules available with them and all staff must be adequately trained. There should preferably be training on Primary Trauma Care (PTC) for first responders. Training courses are available on PTC, for example at http:// www.ptcdelhi.com/ and for detailed knowledge on first-aid, St. John’s ambulance first-aid modules are the most comprehensive.
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