Why use a PAD Public access defibrillator. (automated external defibrillator) ?
Would it surprise you to know in the UK alone every year there are approximately 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA).
Would it also surprise you to know that the survival rate is only 8.6% where as in other countries such as Holland it is 21% and Norway is 25%.
This is partly down to the fact in the UK we are not very good at recognising a cardiac arrest. For every minute that someone is in cardiac arrest and nothing is being done the chance of survival reduces by 7-10%.
If there is an AED available the chances of survival are significantly increased as much as 30-40%. We must remember though not every cardiac arrest will survive.
What we need to do is increase public awareness and training in the following.
• cardiac arrest
• how to recognise it
• the need to call 999 immediately
• the need to start CPR immediately
• the fact that PADS can be used safely by anyone
Yes that’s right anyone can use a public access defibrillator. They are designed to be used by anyone just follow the instructions.
upset is an understatement. Are we that scared of litigation that we would rather walk on by? Are we that heartless and removed from reality that when something like this happens we reach for our phones not to call for help but to record the events…….
I was literally driving home when out the corner of my eye I caught something that didn’t look good, a man was knelt on the floor looking panicked and shouting for help. People moved out his way to walk on by. As I came close I could see a little pair of feet and realised it was a child on the floor, his child and they were shaking.
I stopped, jumped out the car and went to him, he was panicked and quite rightly so. His child was unresponsive and shaking violently. Lips blue and making funny noises. His child was fitting.
I shouted for help, people continued to pass by, some gathered around with their phones out but not calling for help but videoing the ongoing emergency blank faces staring at their screens.
In that short period (that felt like a lifetime without my usual equipment)I was able to call 999, tell the ambulance operator what was going on and ask for the appropriate response. I was lucky as I knew what to do. It’s what I do. Would you just walk on by?
So it’s February, the time of year when people focus on the one day of the year we dedicate to Love. St Valentine’s Day.
Who was this man? who was St Valentine? Some say he was a priest who was beheaded by emperor Claudius II for helping Christian couples wed, some say similar but that he was the bishop of Terni who was martyred for similar acts. Whoever he was, his work has survived the centuries for us all to appreciate the matters of the heart. So this months blogs will all be centred round this amazing feat of physical evolutionary engineering THE HEART.
So to start us of here are 14 (see what we did there) fun facts about the heart to help you learn more about this precious organ and learn to look after it.
What is the Heart?
The heart is a powerful organ made of something called cardiac muscle; the function of the heart is to constantly pump blood around the body, it uses the same energy over a lifetime that it takes to lift a battleship out of the water – pretty impressive for a muscle about the size of your fist.
Fact 1
By the time you reach your 70th birthday your heart will beat more than two and a half billion times (2,500,000,000 – that’s a lot of zeros).
Fact 2
The heart pumps blood from veins into arteries; the heart, veins and arteries make up bodily system called the circulatory system
Fact 3
How big is the human heart? The average heart size is about the size of a fist measuring around 12 cm long, 9 cm wide and 6 cm thick
What are the main parts of the heart? The main parts of the heart consist of: the Aorta, the left ventricle and left atrium, and the right ventricle and right atrium. The heart is divided into two parts, left and right.
Fact 4
The word “atrium” means entrance hall in Latin and the word “ventricle” means “little belly” (quite like that “the entrance hall to the little belly).
The right side of the heart receives blood from the body in the upper chamber, the blood flows to the lower chamber before it is pumped out of the heart to the lungs. The left side receives blood back from the lungs in the upper chamber, the blood flows to the lower chamber before it is pumped back to the body
Fact 5
You can feel your heart beat in the side of your wrist and to the side of your throat. The feel of your heart beat is called your pulse. Average pulse rates are 75-110 bpm (beats per minute) for a 7-12 year old and 75-100 bpm for ages 12 and above
Fact 6
Why does my heart sometimes beat faster? If you are excited or exercise your heart beats faster, this is because your heart needs to works harder and faster to get more oxygen to your muscles to help them to work effectively
What is the difference between an artery and a vein? Arteries carry the blood away from the heart and veins carry the blood back to the heart.
Fact 7
An easy way to remember the difference is arteries begin with an ‘A’ for ‘away’. Veins begin with a V if you put your fingers into a V shape they point towards your heart
Fact 8
The name of the artery that carries the blood away from the heart to the lungs is the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary vein carries the blood from the lungs to the heart (it is the only vein to carry oxygenated blood to the heart).
Fact 9
It beats around 70 times a minute in the average adult – but it’s the hummingbird that holds the record for the fastest heart rate at 1,200 beats a minute as it flaps its wings. Where as the blue whales heart (which is the the largest heart) beats between four and eight beats a minute.
Fact 10
Your heart pumps approximately 7,200 litres of blood a day, enough to fill a small paddling pool.
Fact 11
Your heart makes your blood travel 19,000 km everyday – the same distance as flying from London to Hong Kong.
Fact 12
The giraffe has a lopsided heart, with their left ventricle being thicker than the right. This is because the left side has to get blood up the giraffe’s long neck to reach their brain
Fact 13
When the body is at rest, it takes only six seconds for the blood to go from the heart to the lungs and back, only eight seconds for it to go the brain and back, and only 16 seconds for it to reach the toes and travel all the way back to the heart.
Fact 14
Grab a tennis ball and squeeze it tightly: that’s how hard the beating heart works to pump blood
So now you have a few amazing facts about the heart. Look after this little power house. It needs you and you need it
Christmas and new year has been and gone for another year. Resolutions and changes are promised to help us live longer and healthier lives, so that we can be around for those that matter to us the most. Our families…….
When I am teaching first aid, one of the questions I get asked most by students is “how can we help them?” We are just first aiders. Firstly you are not “JUST” a First Aider, YOU are the first person in a long line of people who is there to give someone every opportunity and the best chance of survival. YOU are the most important, because without your help and skill that person will feel scared, alone and they will get worse (if not die) without your help.
I tell my students the same story over and over, one that I am sure most of my emergency service family will have experienced at some point in their careers in some form. One that will sit for me forever.
This is a story that shows them that wether you are a First Aider, a medical professional or A&E consultant sometimes holding hands is the best and only thing that you can do. It happened as a result of something that happens all year round, but for some reason over the festive period it feels more poignant and always breaks my heart. It is the tragedy that comes with Alcohol & driving. Yes that tipple that we British love to consume in excess over the festive period added to the danger of driving can only lead to one outcome.
Firstly just watch this video to show you the carnage that is caused by not paying attention on the road, add alcohol to the mix and the consequences are horrific. I make no apology for this video. I truly believe this should be shown to everyone to truly show the impact.
***WARNING GRAPHIC SCENES***
Just imagine. You are driving home from a long shift, you are on a dark country road when you round the corner and you are met with a scene of pure devastation. A car has overturned, rolled and come to rest against a tree. Smoke coming from the car and you can hear a moan. You get out to investigate and realise someone is in there. What do you do? You ring 999 you ask them to send everyone. As you get to the car you can see someone inside trapped and bleeding.
You know it’s going to be some time before the emergency services get to you. Your miles from anywhere…….please help me!! Please can someone help me!! I can’t move. These words are ringing in your ears.
As you peer through what is left of the windscreen, you can see a person looking scared. You tell them help is on the way. You tell them to try and not move because you know that will have injuries that may be life threatening.
Suddenly a hand appears, they ask you to hold it. Because they feel scared, frightened and alone. You take their hand. You tell them you are there. The voice asks “am I going to be ok?” Honestly……you don’t know, but you comfort them by telling them you won’t let anything happen to them, you hold their hand tighter, showing you are there for them. Wishing to hear the sirens, looking for the lights in the darkness.
Suddenly, the grip weakens, you can’t hear them anymore. You SHOUT “ARE YOU OK?” No reply…..you try to grip the hand but nothing. Your heart racing. Anxious because you can’t get in. The night lights up with blue light. The silence broken by the shrill of the sirens. Your moved out the way.
You did the right thing, you did the only thing you could. You gave comfort, you held their hand. They were not alone. Sometimes holding someone’s hand is the most powerful thing you can do. It can convey so much emotion, just the touch alone can bring comfort. just holding someone’s hand is the best thing And sometimes the only thing you can do. Look after each other.
on the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me.
An aspirin and trip to A &E.
So Heart attack!!!! What do you think of when you hear those two words? For most Those two words fill people with Fear. As soon as you hear heart attack, immediately they think of death. Quite rightly because if you do not recognise the symptoms it can rapidly lead to a cardiac arrest.
What is the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest?
a popular misconception is that they are one in the same. This is not true, whilst they are linked they are also two different entities.
Heart Attack
A heart attack happens when there is a narrowing/blockage in the arteries supplying blood to the heart muscle itself. The heart like any other muscle in the body needs a good supply of oxygen rich blood to survive. If this flow is interrupted then the muscle cells start to die making the heart less efficient in pumping. Eventually if this is not rectified it will stop completely (cardiac arrest).
Cardiac Arrest
A cardiac arrest is time critical and immediately life threatening condition. It can be caused by a number of factors including drugs, trauma and heart attacks. A cardiac arrest is defined as the cessation of the heart pumping blood around the body.
Signs and symptoms of a Heart Attack.
Heart attack symptoms vary from one person to another. The most common signs of a heart attack are:
chest pain
Chest tightness
heaviness in the chest
pain or a burning feeling in your chest
pain in arms
neck
jaw
back or stomach
for some people, the pain or tightness is severe, while other people just feel uncomfortable also they may experience
sweating
feeling light-headed
become short of breath
feeling nauseous or vomiting.
grey looking skin
clammy
Watch how quickly it can happen, it can happen anywhere and to anyone.
these symptoms are not exhaustive and if you suspect someone is having a heart attack you need to ring 999 for an ambulance.
Treatment
Call 999 or 112 for an ambulance and tell them you think someone is having a heart attack.
Make the person comfortable,
help move them into the most comfortable position.
The best position is on the floor leaning against a wall with knees bent and head and shoulders supported.
This should ease the pressure on their heart and stop them hurting themselves if they collapse.
Give them a 300mg aspirin, if available make sure they are not allergic to it by asking them, and tell them to chew it slowly.
Be aware that they may become unresponsive and collapse before help arrives if this happens
If they lose responsiveness at any point, stay clam and open their airway, check their breathing, and prepare to treat someone who has become unresponsive. You may need to do CPR. Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation at a rate of 30 chest compressions to 2 breaths.
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me.
The skills to make seizures not so scary…..
So this post is a little late as Mr Jingles and I have been helping Mrs KBT wrap all the presents for young KBT. Fighting through the boards of shoppers to get this years must have toys. Anyway here we go.
”Tis the season to be snotty tra la la la la la la la la. Yup as winter has set in those bugs love to set up home in all of us causing coughs and sniffles and generally unwell.
One thing that worries a lot of parents is temperatures in children when they are unwell. The main problem with the temperature is they can cause seizures in younger children (febrile convulsions).
To understand febrile convulsions it helps to understand the brain a little. In young children and babies, the part of the brain that regulates body temperature (the hypothalamus) is infantile and not yet fully developed. This in turn mean when the body has an infection the core temperature can reach dangerously high levels thus causing a seizure.
Nothing is more frightening to a parent than the inability to help their child. When they are unwell all they want to do is care for them. When a child has a febrile seizure although generally they do not last very long, the length of the seizure feels like a lifetime to a parent. This is further impacted when other symptoms along with the shaking/jerking appear. For example they may have stop breathing as the diaphragm goes rigid, with that the lips and face may go blue. Once the seizure finishes the go floppy. All of this will be terrifying. However there are a few things you can do in the first few minutes to help.
Firstly and most importantly TRY to stay calm for both you and your child.
Protect them from harm during the seizure.
Move objects that may cause harm from around them. Lay them on the floor if possible.
Pay particulate attention to protecting the head.
Remove outer clothing to help cool them down.
CALL 999/112 for emergency medical care
Tr and time the seizure (approximately).
Provide plenty of cool fresh air (fan for example)
Careful not to cool them too much.
Whilst help is on route. And once the seizure had stopped open the airway and check for breathing.
Look for chest movement.
Constantly monitor the child’s airway and breathing until further help arrives.
On the Third day of Christmas my true love gave to me
The acronym DR ABC…….
I know right, I can hear you thinking this is one lucky guy. Not only does he have a beautiful fiancé, but she also gives him these amazing First aid gifts……
Ok so maybe that’s not the case, well about the first aid gifts anyway. However it is so important to have a plan of action when dealing with any emergency. Most times things go wrong when people panic and don’t have a plan.
So who is this Dr ABC I hear you say. It’s not a who but a what. It’s a plan of action when dealing with any patient. All medical professionals stick to this basic plan when dealing with an emergency, the only difference is they have more knowledge and skill to deal with it. If you follow these basic rules you will help massively until the professionals arrive.
D is for DANGER.
look for danger to yourself and the patient. Is it safe for you to approach them?
DON’T put yourself in danger one patient is enough.
R is for RESPONSE.
Quickly see is the patient is conscious
Of their eyes are closed gently tap the shoulders and ask loudly “are you ok?” You never know they may just be asleep.
If they are unconscious and on their back the AIRWAY could be at risk.
A is for AIRWAY.
Quickly identify any life threatening problems for example vomit in mouth
Choking, burns, anaphylaxis etc.
If they are unconscious tilt the head back to open the airway.
When the AIRWAY is open move on to BREATHING.
B is for BREATHING.
Again quickly identify any life threatening breathing problems for example asthma, chest injury, cardiac arrest etc….
If the patient is NOT conscious and NOT breathing, perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) watch Tilly doing CPR.
Once life threatening breathing problems have been ruled out or being treated, the next stage is CIRCULATION.
C is for CIRCULATION.
Look for and treat any life threatening circulatory problems such as severe bleeding, cardiac arrest, heart attack etc…..
Ok so your patient is alive but still poorly, if you haven’t already then call 999/112 and wait for help in the meantime keep going over DRABC as things may change and you need to be ready.
Mr Jingles would like to take the opportunity to thank Tilly for her help in showing you what he means.
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me.
A bandage for my hurty knee.
OK day two, what can it be. Well let me tell you how to deal with bleeding so you don’t have to flee.
THE FIRST RULE OF BLEEDING
IT ALWAYS STOPS!!
Well it does eventually. Either you run out of the red stuff, or you stop it. The best outcome would be the latter as blood is meant to be on the inside.
So when to worry. Let’s first look at the types of bleeding.
Arterial – BAD this type of bleeding is easy to recognise as it is under direct pressure from the heart and squirts out.
Venous – Almost as bad. This type of bleeding is not under direct pressure but can still carry the same amount of blood. Trauma to a major vein can OOZE profusely.
Capillary – OMG call the helicopter, the army anyone, send everyone….. kidding, this type of bleeding is easily controlled and just trickles at best (a paper cut).
How much blood can you lose?
The human body is an amazing machine. It has the ability to compensate when things are going wrong, The quicker you stop the bleeding the better. Children have far less blood than adults.A person has approximately 0.5 litres of blood per 7 kg of body weight or one pint of blood per stone (although this does not increase if someone is over weight). An ‘average’ adult has roughly 10 pints / 6 litres of blood – if they lose about a 5th of their blood volume it can cause the body to shut down and go into shock. OK so now we need to deal with the bleeding. What do we do. Well that is entirely dependant on the type of bleeding. For example there is no point in pulling out the major trauma bag for a paper cut. At the same time a plaster won’t cut it for an arterial bleed. Follow these rules and you won’t go far wrong.
SIT OR LAY
Sit or lay the patient down appropriate to the location of the wound and extent of bleeding,
EXAMINE
quickly note the type of bleeding. Find out where it’s coming from so you can put direct pressure on the wound (if any foreign objects protruding put pressure round the wound or a pressure point).
PRESSURE
apply direct pressure continuously for 10 minutes. If embedded object put pressure round the wound.
DRESS
Cover the wound with a sterile dressing. You may be able to put a dressing on directly when putting pressure on. If the bleeding does not stop or the patient is pale, clammy Nauseous Or fall unconscious or if you are worried call 99/112 for emergency help.
PHEW!! that was a close call, we almost lost all the ketchup Mr Jingles is feeling much better after his ketchup accident.
It is something most of us do as part of being an adult. We wake up, we get dressed, then we do the workplace rally.
Yes you know the one, its that time in the morning when we delay leaving for work for as long as possible before we kiss our loved ones goodbye and race out the door to work. What ever way you leave the house we all expect to come home in one safe piece and carry on with our lives, no one expects it to be any different. Take a little look at the following video.
OK it is a little extreme but shows what can happen when safety nets are not in place and people are not concentrating on what is happening. This is WHEN incidents happen, this is when people either get seriously life changing injuries or worse DIE.
according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) IN 2015 – 2016 144 (fig 1) workers were killed at work
Fig1
and approximately 622,000 (fig 2) received non fatal injuries.
Fig2
These are scary numbers, even worse is that although the numbers are decreasing the types of accidents that are occurring are continuously similar. Although it is agreed that “accidents” do happen most of the incidents that are occurring are generally a fault on a human level IE corners cut, safety measures circumnavigated or inadequate training.
Would you have confidence in the first aid skills your staff have, can they cope with being first on scene and managing patients with potentially life threatening injuries. Would you be confident that your employees would be able to cope with and confidently manage the scene.
First aid training is much more than just “passing” a course it’s having the responsibility of someone else’s loved one, the life of a colleague in your hands. It’s having the right skills, knowledge and confidence to manage the scene.
Kbt can can give you these skills. All our instructors are from an emergency service background. We have been there. Let us give your staff the training they really need.
Summer is here and that means 6 glorious weeks of YOU trying EVERYTHING in your power as a parent to stop your little bundle of joy from getting bored. Because if they get bored, they get mischievous. If they get mischievous things get broken and that includes bones.
So firstly let’s look at the terminology and cover one of the most commonly asked questions. What is the difference between a FRACTURE and a BREAK? Well you will be pleased to know there is no difference at all. They both mean the same thing, it seems that doctors like to use the term fracture to come across more educated when in fact they are one in the same. If a bone has a crack in it it is broken, if it is shattered into lots of pieces it is still broken. Those most at risk of broken bones are children and the elderly due to the frailty of the bone at these ages.
I’m sure you have watched the TV and all the medical programmes like Casualty or Holby City. Have you ever wondered “what the hell does that mean” as the Paramedics , Doctors and nurses are babbling on, well here is a little insight into the types of broken bones you can come across.
Closed Fracture
A closed fracture is when your bone breaks or cracks, but it doesn’t break through your skin.
Open fracture
An open fracture (also called compound fracture) is when a broken bone breaks through your skin. These are more serious because you might develop an infection in the bone and wound.
Comminuted Fracture
A comminuted fracture is where your bone breaks into three or more pieces.
Green Stick
Most common for children is a green stick fracture this is where your bone breaks on one side but is bent on the other. Only children get these fractures because they have softer bones.
What causes bones to break?
You have over 200 bones in your body that make up your skeleton. That is a massive choice to break. Thankfully they are generally quite strong however sometimes due to genetic reasons, age or a traumatic event the integrity of your bone is compromised and it breaks.
How do we recognise a broken bone? LIP DUST (signs & symptoms of a fracture)
Loss of movement
Irregularity
Pain
Deformity
Unnatural Movement
Swelling & Bruising
Tenderness
What to do?
It can be difficult to tell if a person has a broken bone. Some sprains or strains can be as painful if not more so than a broken bone If you’re in any doubt, treat the injury as a broken bone.
Always remember.
Danger – to you and the patient
Response – awake or unconscious?
Airway – is it clear?
Breathing – are they breathing?
Circulation – Control any bleeding.
If the person is unconscious, has difficulty breathing or is bleeding severely, these are life threatening and must be dealt with first, by controlling the bleeding with direct pressure and performing CPR.
If the person is conscious, prevent any further pain or damage by keeping the fracture as still as possible until you get them safely to hospital.
Assess the injury and decide whether the best way to get them to hospital is by ambulance or car. if the pain isn’t too severe, you could consider transporting them to hospital by car. get someone else to drive, so that you can deal with the casualty if they deteriorate – for example, if they lose consciousness as a result of the pain or start to vomit.
Things to consider and if necessary call 999 for an ambulance.
• they’re in a lot of pain and in need of strong painkilling medication, don’t move them and call an ambulance
• it’s obvious they have a broken leg, don’t move them, but keep them in the position you found them in and call an ambulance
• you suspect they have injured or broken their back, don’t move them and call an ambulance
Don’t give the casualty anything to eat or drink, because they may need emergency surgery to fix the break when they reach hospital.
Ok so all the boring stuff is out of the way here is a video NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED.
Once you have watched this you will be more than competent in recognising broke bones and also for those of you with boys will probably never let them out again.
KBT FIRST AID TRAINING 