Each year in Australia, about 20,000 people suffer cardiac arrest outside of hospital. You never know when an emergency is going to occur and knowing how to perform CPR and administer basic first aid could mean the difference between life and death.
Anyone above the age of 14 can take a CPR and Red Cross first aid course, and here’s why you should according to the home doctor experts at House Call Doctor
- You could save someone’s life
Performing CPR and first aid properly and promptly can dramatically improve a person’s chance of survival in an emergency. If a person does not receive immediate first aid care, their condition may deteriorate, which can have fatal consequences. When you are properly trained and certified, you will know techniques to help stabilise the patient until an ambulance arrives. By preserving the person’s brain function during cardiac arrest, for example, their chance survival is increased.
- Most emergencies happen at work or at home
Emergencies can easily happen at home or in the workplace, so learning how to provide CPR is important. Learning the basics of first aid is also important when you don’t have the appropriate resources available at your home or workplace. With many people with children running around at home, knowing the basics can allow to you help when needed and may save you a trip to the emergency room.
- You will learn about your own safety
Through a CPR and first aid course, you will learn how to navigate an emergency from start to finish. Firstly, you need to make sure the environment around you is safe and that there are no threats to your safety. If there are external threats to your safety, for example if the person has been electrocuted or poisoned with gas, you will be unable to directly engage with the person. You need to make sure you put your own safety first before assisting someone else.
- It will improve your confidence
Knowing how to perform CPR and the basics of first aid will boost your confidence in any situation. Some people are overcome by fear and anxiety when faced with an emergency, so having a CPR and first aid course under your belt can help ease your panic as you’ll be armed with the knowledge of what needs to be done.