Sarah (owner of F.A.S.T. First Aid Training) is a little bit passionate about the defib! Why…..It’s an absolute game changer! You can increase someone’s chance of survival from 10% to 80%, who wouldn’t want a defib on standby!
Long gone are the days when defibrillators were only found behind hospital doors. An AED (automatic external defibrillator) is now an important addition to the home or work that everyone should put in their first aid kit. Unfortunately, even with its newfound accessibility, people are still hesitant to use a defib themselves. Why might this be?
There are many myths surrounding the use of defibrillators. Will it shock my patient into having cardiac arrest? Do I have enough training to use an AED? Will I cause more harm than good? Many of these myths and legends have led to an alarming number of people being too scared to use a life saving device that is just at their fingertips.
Separating fact from fiction, the most important point is that anyone is qualified to be using a defibrillator. Even a person with little knowledge of how a defibrillator works has a higher risk of saving a person when pairing it with CPR.
Sarah lays it out plain and simple: the average wait time for an ambulance is 15 minutes. The average time it takes someone to become brain dead if CPR is not given is 4-6 minutes. You do the maths!
The defib is a game changer and there needs to be more available in our community. If you use a defib in the first few minutes you will increase the chance of your casualty surviving to 80%.
When faced with a life or death situation, you should follow the DRSABCD
(DANGER, RESPONSE, SEND, AIRWAY, BREATHING, CPR, DEFIBRILLATION) technique to remember what you need to do next.
While the flow of DRSABCD is fantastic for the order in which you are meant to do things. don’t leave getting the defib to the end. Sarah stresses that SEND stands for not just sending for help, but also sending and collecting all of your resources. This includes getting someone to call 000, sending someone to find a defibrillator, grabbing the first aid kit and even finding people to help, whether it be with traffic control, crowd control or to help guide the ambulance in. SEND is all about collecting all of the tools you might need just in case.
It is also important to have CPR training under your belt, which is an added asset just in case a defib isn’t immediately beside you. Make sure to learn the correct way to administer CPR today to avoid the risk of a casualty close to you.
Please share these AED Facts.
Call us today on 07 3067 4828 to find out when the next community course closest to you is or to ask for a group training quote. YES we can come to you.
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