What is basic life support (BLS)?
A level of medical care used for victims of severe illness or injuries until they can be given full medical care at hospital
What is the pneumonic that can be used?
DRS ABC
What does the BLS pneumonic stand for?
D: Danger
R: Response
S: Shout For Help
A: Airway
B: Breathing
C: Circulation
What is done during the DANGER pneumonic?
- check area for danger
- keep yourself safe
What is done during the RESPONSE pneumonic?
- Shake patients shoulders and ask loudly if they are ok
- if response, leave them there ensuring no further danger
- if no response, person laid on their back and continue pneumonic
What is done during the SHOUT pneumonic?
- shout for help
- phone 999, state location, phone number and nature of emergency
- ask someone to get AED
- ask for help with cpr if you need
What is done during the AIRWAY pneumonic?
- Remove any foreign objects with finger sweep
- open airway with head tilt/chin lift
What is done during the BREATHING pneumonic?
- check person’s breathing by placing ear over their mouth and looking down towards their chest
What is done during the CIRCULATION pneumonic?
- palpate the person’s carotid pulse for no more than 10 seconds
- this may be done in conjunction with the breathing assessment
What does CPR stand for?
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
What are the 3 parts of CPR?
- Starting chest compressions
- Ventilations
- AED
What do you do when starting chest compressions?
- interlock fingers, place on centre of chest, compress 5-6cm at a rate of 100-120 per minute
- 30 compressions to 2 ventilations
What do you do with ventilations?
Place bag valve mask over mouth and nose - ensure good seal
During 2 ventilations, compress bag fully and allow to refill completely
What do you do when the AED arrives?
Place pads in position illustrated immediately without stopping CPR. Follow instructions given by the AED
How long do you give CPR?
Until person regains consciousness or the ambulance arrives
