#provide first aid in an education and care setting kallangur

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How to Provide First Aid in an Education and Care Setting

First aid and CPR knowledge promotes a safe environment. It also ensures that everyone in the school is prepared to respond to an emergency.

This course provides first aid training for educators and childcare workers. It covers a range of incidents from minor bites and stings to asthmatic emergencies and anaphylaxis.

1.       Recognise an emergency

A first aid emergency is a serious situation that requires immediate action. It could include a sudden illness or injury, or an accident at work or school. The most important thing is to recognise an emergency so that you can react quickly.

All education, childcare and community services settings should have an emergency plan in place. An emergency plan should detail what to do in case of an incident, and who is responsible for implementing it.

This nationally recognised course (HLTAID012 Provide an emergency first aid response in an education and care setting plus HLTAID011 Provide first aid and HLTAID009 Provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation) meets ACECQA requirements for first aid, asthma and anaphylaxis training of educators in early childhood and school age services. It follows the first aid guidelines determined by the Australian

Resuscitation Council and other Australian national peak clinical bodies. This express version of the course allows students to complete their knowledge assessment online before attending the face-to-face class, reducing their classroom time and making it more efficient.

2.       Assess the casualty

First aid is care given to an injured or sick person in the event of a medical emergency until professional help arrives. Those who are trained in first aid can include teachers, lifeguards, police officers, office workers and other people with a basic level of medical knowledge and skill.

Before carrying out any first aid, you should check for danger to yourself and the casualty. This includes looking for signs of fire, falling debris, violent persons or other hazards that could put you in harm's way.

You should then quickly carry out a primary survey to assess the casualty's condition, using the 'look, listen and feel' technique. This helps you to identify the most serious injuries so that you can focus your attention on them. For example, casualties that are marked with red tags should receive immediate treatment, such as dealing with major bleeds and moving them to the recovery position.

3.       Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

Performing CPR can help to keep oxygen-rich blood flowing to the brain and other organs until emergency medical treatment is available. Without prompt and effective bystander CPR, the victim's chance of survival drops by 7-10% each minute after the heart stops beating.

CPR combines rescue breathing (mouth-to-mouth) with chest compressions. Keeping the person awake and breathing is important if they are unresponsive and have no pulse, but chest compressions are more life-saving than rescue breaths.

It is recommended that everyone complete a first aid course, which includes CPR training. Accredited first aid courses include a statement of attainment, which is valid for three years. HLTAID012 Provide First Aid in an Education and Care Setting is a nationally recognised unit of competency that can be used towards approved first aid, asthma and anaphylaxis training under the National Law and Education and Childcare Act 2009. This course requires pre-course theory learning (eLearning) which will take between 0.5 - 4.5 hours and 5 hours face to face training and assessment.

4.       Manage anaphylaxis

The symptoms of anaphylaxis are severe and can rapidly progress to lifethreatening. They include a wide range of symptoms that affect multiple body systems including the skin, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory system and cardiovascular system. If a person experiences these symptoms they should be treated with an adrenaline autoinjector immediately. A delay of just 30 minutes in administration of epinephrine can result in death (see Table 3).

If you work in the education or care industry you need to know how to manage anaphylaxis and asthma in emergencies. Our course HLTAID012 Provide first aid in an education and care setting includes the full content of our national accredited first aid courses (HLTAID009 and HLTAID011) and is specifically designed to prepare teachers, child care workers and educators to respond to emergency situations and meet their workplace Work Health and Safety obligations. It also delivers a statement of attainment for CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) training. This is a nationally-recognised unit of competency and is recommended to be renewed every three years.