Tag: first aid

Nine out of ten for Netcare

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I had to call an ambulance for someone this week. Obviously, that’s never a good thing, but sometimes accidents happen and you have to deal with them. This injury was thankfully not life-threatening, but it did need an ambulance. And so I dialled 082 911 and I got through to Netcare.

The lady on the other end of the line was generally very helpful, and dispatched the ambulance promptly.
I only had two minor gripes. One was the amount of detail that they needed regarding the patient’s medical aid. And yes, I get that they need it, but there’s a time and a place and this was neither.
Honestly, once we had established that the patient had medical aid, I really just needed to get back to her and do my best to look after her, rather than asking her difficult questions about her specific plan and membership number. I told the operator that I needed to go and we could sort out the admin later.

The only other little thing was their SMS telling me that I could track the ambulance as it came through to us. This is a great idea and would be very helpful. Reassuring for the casualty and everyone else there. Except…
Click the link in the SMS and it asks you to download their app.
Download their app and it asks you to create an account.
Name, Cell number, Email address, ID number, Username, Password – no, a stronger one than that, and you’ll need a $p3cial character, and an UPPER CASE letter – ah, there we go.
I’ll send you an OTP now.
But it didn’t. Twice.
And I didn’t have time for this.
Can you imagine if this had have been a life-threatening injury?

In the end I had to call back on their emergency number to find out how far away the ambulance was from us. With hindsight, this would have been the better option from the start.

Anyway, I wanted to get those gripes out of the way because once their guys turned up (within the timeframe we were given), they were amazing.

Truth be told, there wasn’t actually much first aid to be done: just the usual checks for anything properly serious, and making sure that the patient was safe and comfortable, but I was actually impressed with how well my scene management stuff from my first aid courses came back to me.
Once we’d handed over to the paramedics though, it really was absolutely seamless, more like a demonstration of best practice, rather than an actual case with all its variables and difficulties. 25 minutes of friendly, efficient stabilising of the patient and administering some pain relief for the stretcher trip to the ambulance and the drive to the hospital; and then they made the stretcher trip to the ambulance, and the drive to the hospital.

Surgery that afternoon was apparently successful and we’re all hoping for a quick recovery.

All’s well that ends well.

Although I still haven’t got an OTP.

First aid kit

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Just a quick heads up for readers. We recently had “an incident” at home – a minor thing, nothing too serious, just a bit sore – that required some first aid. As a trained first aider, this shouldn’t have proven too much of a problem for me.
It was only when I started toward the first aid kit that I remembered that last time I used the first aid kit, I noted that it needed some replenishment. The popular items get used up quickly and the less used ones go out of date. But then, typically, I hadn’t done anything about it. And of course, one of the worst times to remember that the first aid kit needs replenishing is when you’re heading for the first aid kit with a damaged child in hand.

That’s why I’m suggesting that you make a note or set a reminder to check your first aid kit this evening. 

And why not tell your friends and family to do the same. Because it’s no fun to have improvise and make a plaster out of leaves, and antiseptic poultice from soil and beagle hair, I can tell you.

If you want to know what you need, here’s a good guide (especially for those of you with kids). Alternatively, Dischem have got you covered for the basics or more.

CPR vs DNR

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One of two interesting pieces I spotted in The Telegraph today, each of which is getting its own post. This one is Max Pemberton’s Why it’s often better not to resuscitate  – something that any of us who have been trained in First Aid probably don’t consider. Part of Max’s article is aimed at medical professionals, and it makes grim reading:

I remember, as a junior working nights, running to cardiac arrest calls, only to be met with a pitying look from nurses as they explained that the call was for an elderly, terminally ill patient without a “do not resuscitate” form. I was therefore obliged to attempt to resuscitate, wincing as I cracked the patient’s ribs with each compression, knowing that I was subjecting a dying person to something futile, painful and cruel. If they had any sentience left, their last moments would be traumatic and brutal.

Aside from the unedited reality of the actual act of CPR, there’s the other issue of the authority and training of the professional (yes, I understand he was “just” a junior doctor here, but still…) being removed from them by the bureaucracy of the system. No thinking for yourself here. No consideration of the best decision for the patient – you will attempt resuscitation and perhaps allow this person to suffer for a while longer.

The second part of the article is the fascinating dichotomy between TV drama and real life, and the effects thereof.
I know, right? Hoodathunkit?

The British Medical Association (BMA) estimates that in TV dramas three-quarters of people survive as a result of CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation). In reality, of those who go into cardiac arrest outside of a medical environment, the figure is less than two per cent. In hospitals, about half survive the initial event, but only 20 per cent live to be discharged. For those who are frail or seriously ill, positive outcomes are vanishingly small.
This skewed portrayal of successful CPR on television has the effect of erroneously raising the public’s expectations –particularly traumatic for the friends and family of those who go into cardiac arrest. And many of those who do survive CPR are left with debilitating conditions such as brain damage, also rarely shown in TV dramas.

Of course, it should be remembered that anyone who has a cardiac arrest in a medical environment (or “hospital”, as we laypersons call them) was most likely within that medical environment because they were already unwell. But the shock for me wasn’t the difference between the figures depending on where you have your cardiac arrest (although, having seen this, I wouldn’t really suggest having one anywhere), but that “less than 2%” chance of survival outside of a medical environment.

Less than 2%? Not. Good. Odds.

Cardiac Arrestees in Seattle (home of ‘really medically accurate hospital drama’, Grey’s Anatomy), have a chance of survival, simply because their EMS service has identified cardiac arrest as their number one priority, and work specifically hone their services to saving these patients. Part of this approach is the widespread availability and publicising of training for citizens, with the result that:

King County has the nation’s highest rate of witnesses of cardiac arrest performing CPR… When done at the scene, CPR doubles the victim’s likelihood of survival.

55% of individuals who suffered a cardiac arrest in 2012 in King County survived the event, and:

…85 percent of those maintained good neurological functioning. That survival rate has doubled in the county since 2002 and is significantly higher than the nation’s average of 8 percent.

So don’t let this dissuade you from trying to help.

The CPR vs DNR decision is for the doctors and their petty managers to sort out. For the man on the street (literally, he just collapsed and he is now flat on the actual surface of the street), no matter how small the chances of success, anything is better than nothing. If you have the training (and you really should have the training – it’s quick, easy and generally free to get), you should always have a go if you end up as first responder in an emergency case.