We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. Do You agree?

Read more

Pre-medical first aid

Notify the University Guard: (22 55) 22 112, who will inform the relevant services of the emergency.
You can also notify the services directly by calling the emergency number 112.

How to proceed at the scene

Before you administer first aid, be sure that professional services are already on their way with support. Call yourself or ask someone to call the emergency number.

Do not delay in giving first aid, as often seconds are the deciding factor. Stay calm. If you do not know how to cope, call for help immediately.

Assess the situation
  1. Take care of your own safety, the safety of the injured person and any witnesses to the incident.
  2. If the scene poses a danger to you or you cannot protect yourself properly, do not approach the casualty, but call for help by calling the emergency numbers listed below.
  3. Call loudly for help to ensure that you have the support of other witnesses to the incident.
  4. If, based on your observation of the casualty, you determine that there is a threat to their health or life, call the qualified emergency services by calling the emergency number:
    • 112 – emergency number common to all services;
    • 999 – Ambulance Service;
    • 998 – Fire Brigade;
    • 997 – Police.
Assess the condition of the casualty
  1. If you have gloves from the first aid kit – put them on, if not – protect yourself e.g. with available foil, especially in the presence of blood, try to avoid contact with the casualties’ secretions.
  2. Gently shake the casualty by the shoulders.
  3. Loudly ask: “Are you OK?”.

If the casualty is conscious, respond appropriately:

  1. Leave the casualty in the position you found him/her in as long as he/she is not in any danger.
  2. Find out as much as possible about the person’s state of health (what has happened, what ails him/her, what he/she is suffering from).
  3. If necessary, call an emergency medical team by dialling 999 or 112.
  4. You can always get support from the medical dispatcher – they will instruct you on how to give first aid to the casualty.
  5. Regularly assess the condition of the casualty until the emergency medical team arrives.

If the casualty is unconscious, unresponsive:

  1.  Call for help loudly, without moving away from the casualty.
  2.  Remove visible foreign bodies and debris from the airway.
  3.  Open the airway: bend the head and pull the jaw forward.
  4.  Check breathing for 10 seconds: place your cheek against the mouth of the casualty so that you can hear, feel and see if the chest rises at the same time. If there is any doubt about the correct breathing, act as if the breathing is abnormal.
  5.  If the casualty is breathing normally:
    ○   Place the casualty in the safe (side) position.
    ○   Call the emergency medical team by dialling 999 or 112.
    ○   Regularly assess his/her condition.
  6.  If the casualty is breathing abnormally (breathing infrequent and/or irregular) or breathing is absent:
    ○   Call an emergency medical team by calling 999 or 112, or ask someone to call for help and bring an AED (automatic defibrillator) if available. Only leave the casualty if you have no other way to call for help.
    ○   Perform 30 chest compressions, i.e. place the wrist of one hand on the centre of the casualty’s chest (lower half of the casualty’s sternum), place the wrist of the other hand on the back of the first hand, intertwine the fingers of both hands and make sure the pressure is not directed at the casualty’s ribs, keep the arms straight, compress the chest to a depth of about 5 cm but no more than 6 cm.
  7.  If you cannot or do not want to perform rescue breaths, you can only perform external cardiac massage, compressing the chest at a rate of at least 100 and a maximum of 120 compressions per minute. This will increase the success of the rescue by the qualified services and thus the casualty’s chances of survival.
External cardiac massage
  1.  Do not compress the upper abdomen or the lower end of the sternum.
  2.  Continue chest compressions at a rate of at least 100/min (not to exceed 120/min).
  3.  If you decide to combine chest compressions with breaths, after 30 chest compressions, re-establish the airway by tilting the head back and moving the mandible forward.
  4.  Perform 2 rescue breaths, i.e. pinch the casualty’s nose with your thumb and forefinger, blow air into their mouth so as to cause the chest to rise visibly; the two breaths lasting no more than 1s should be immediately consecutive and last no more than 5 seconds in total. Use disposable masks if you want to avoid direct contact with the casualty’s skin.
  5.  Continue chest compressions and rescue breaths at a ratio of 30:2.
  6.  Only stop CPR when the casualty starts to respond (moves, opens his/her eyes, starts breathing properly) or when the emergency medical team or other emergency services arrive, or when you lose your strength.

If the casualty is a child:

  1. Remove visible foreign bodies and debris from the airway.
  2. Make the airway clear by tilting the head back and moving the jaw forward.
  3. Check breathing for 10 seconds – place cheek against mouth of casualty in such a way that you can simultaneously feel breathing and observe if the casualty’s chest rises.
  4. First carry out 5 rescue breaths.
  5. Begin CPR in the sequence: 15 chest compressions (place the wrist of one hand on the lower half of the sternum, lift your fingers to ensure you do not compress the ribs) and 2 rescue breaths.
  6. If you have no training in first aid for children, use the sequence of procedures as you would for an adult, because if you take no action, the child’s chance of survival is slim.
  7. In young children, perform rescue breaths by covering the child’s nose and mouth with your mouth at the same time (if you want to avoid direct contact with the casualty’s skin, you can use gauze or other material), chest compressions in infants should be performed with two fingertips.
Safe position (lateral)

The side position is used for casualties who are unconscious but breathing normally. The safe position should be stable, as close as possible to the side position with the head bent back and no pressure on the chest so as not to impede breathing. Accident victims or others with suspected spinal injury should not be placed in this position.

 

To place the casualty in the safe position, do the following:

  1.  if the casualty is wearing glasses – remove them;
  2.  kneel down beside the casualty and make sure he or she is lying on their back with both legs straight;
  3.  place the hand closer to you at right angles to the body and bend at the elbow so that the palm of the hand faces upwards;
  4.  put your other hand across your chest and hold it with the back of your hand against the cheek of the person closer to you;
  5.  use your other hand to grasp the casualty’s distal leg (just above the knee) and pull it upwards without taking the foot off the ground;
  6.  grasp the casualty’s distal arm so that the fingers of the casualty’s hand interlace with yours;
  7.  while keeping your hand pressed against your cheek, pull the other leg so that the casualty turns sideways towards you;
  8.  tilt the casualty’s head back to improve the airway and help the casualty breathe;
  9.  assess the breathing and monitor the condition of the casualty.