First Aid Training And Where To Begin

First aid training is a fairly short title for an extensive regime, covering everything from addressing cuts and scrapes to instances of choking or drowning. First aid involves the immediate care of a sick or injured person and the goal of first aid is to keep the individual stable until medical professionals arrive on scene, or the individual can be taken to the hospital. First aid training can be crucial to potentially saving a life should you find yourself in an emergency situation. It can be applied in the workplace, on the job, at home or in public. Whenever there is a chance of injury, there is a place for first aid skills to be applied.

If you're interested in taking a first aid course and learning some vital skills to prepare yourself to handle emergencies, EMCARE has you covered. We offer a broad array of first aid courses and first aid training to help you prepare for the worst in any situation. Whether you'd like to train your employees or would simply like to learn the skills yourself, head over to the EMCARE website and get in touch. We have establishments set up across South Africa and we are ready and waiting to arm you with the information and skills you need to handle medical emergencies with a level head.

First Aid Training With EMCARE At Your Back

In South Africa, you can undergo first aid training without a matric certificate. This is to ensure that first aid training is accessible to as many people as possible, allowing anyone with the drive and dedication to learn the principles of first aid and respond to medical emergencies. In certain cases, however, specific first aid courses may require a Grade 10 level of education and you may need to be proficient in English in order to undertake the course.

The South African Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 (OHS Act) dictates that all business organisations must have at least one of their employees undergo first aid training for every fifty employees in the workplace. This ensures that there is always someone on hand who can handle a medical emergency until help arrives. The first aid certificate has to come from an accredited first aid training provider like EMCARE.

Even if your business has less than fifty employees, it's still a good idea to have one or two members of your team undergo first aid training, and it's also a good idea to get some training in yourself. Even the most basic of first aid knowledge can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency situation.

Basic first aid training and acquiring the necessary skills through accredited course providers can prepare you to act immediately and with expertise when a medical emergency occurs. With the right training and an extensive knowledge of first aid, you can make sure that the individual is stable and cared for until hospital personnel can arrive on the scene.

If you don't want to go too deep into first aid training just yet, a basic first aid course from EMCARE will cover essential medical emergency skills. This includes how to address wounds and bleeding, head and spinal injuries, choking, burns, and fractures. You will also learn how to examine an individual, assess their injuries, control any excessive bleeding, alleviate trauma, and more - all to help prevent the medical emergency from getting progressively worse.

Throughout every first aid training course with EMCARE, you will also learn the golden rules of first aid so that you can be better prepared to tackle an emergency situation with a clear head and thorough expertise. The golden rules can be summed up as follows:

• Act immediately
• Prioritise a systematic approach
• Always assume it is something serious until more information is gained
• Offer reassurance
• Request professional medical assistance

Understanding The ABC's Of First Aid

When assessing an emergency situation one of the most crucial steps you can learn during your first aid course is the ABC's of first aid. If an individual is unconscious or unresponsive in an emergency situation, the ABC principle can be applied and it goes like this: airway, breathing, and circulation.

Airway: If the person isn't breathing, the very first step would be opening their airway to improve oxygen intake.

Breathing: If the person's airway is cleared but they're still unable to breath, rescue breathing can be applied (also known as CPR).

Circulation: While applying rescue breathing, performing chest compressions will keep the individual's blood circulating.

You can learn all of this and more with accredited first aid training, as well as how to address a variety of other medical emergencies. Another important acronym is DRABC, and it covers the five crucial steps one can perform in a medical emergency.

Danger: Access the emergency situation for any dangers or threats.

Response: Check the response of the individual by assessing their consciousness and vital signs.

Airway: Check their airway for any blockages.

Breathing: Check their respiration rates.

Circulation: Provide chest compressions if the person is not breathing.

Try Out An EMCARE First Aid Course And Expand Your Expertise

First aid training is often viewed as a clear way to improve medical and emergency response personnel expertise, but in actuality, first aid training is actually a life-saving, necessary skill that can be learned by just about anyone when given the right training. Having the knowledge and skill set to act fast and with precision in an emergency situation can make the world of a difference and diffuse emergency situations before they get out of hand, and until the professionals can arrive on scene.

EMCARE is a reputable first aid training academy with the goal of teaching both individuals and teams the necessary qualifications and certification required for first aid, fire fighting, working at heights, and plenty of other medical and emergency fields. All of our courses are fully accredited with South African accreditation bodies, including HWSETA, LGSETA, the Department of Labour and the Department of Mineral Resources - and all courses are facilitated by fully qualified Level 6 Intermediate Life Support Paramedic's, or a facilitator with a higher qualification with a minimum of 1000 hours experience in emergency services.