This document provides guidance on first aid principles and procedures. It outlines the steps first responders should take including assessing dangers, ensuring safety, providing emergency aid, and getting help. Key priorities are preserving life by maintaining airway, breathing, and circulation. First aid procedures are described for conditions like shock, bleeding, fractures, and choking. Guidelines are provided for first aid kit contents.

2. Principles of first aid
 Preserve life:
 Prevent deterioration:
 Promote recovery:
 Airway
 Breathing
 Stop bleeding
 Treat shock
 Treat other injuries
 Reassure
 Relieve pain
 Handle with care
 Protect from harm
 Circulation

3.  Assess dangers
 Make safe
 Give emergency aid
 Get help
 Clear up
 Look after yourself
Action in an emergency

4. The first person at the
scene of an incident should:
 Danger
 Make the area safe
 Response
 Airway
 Breathing
 Reassure the casualty and bystanders
 Use bystanders to help
 Prioritise and respond to the
immediate needs of the casualty
 Send for help
 Circulation

5.  Inform next of kin, if possible
 Complete reports to include:
 Details of the incident
As soon as possible:
 Location of the incident
 Date and time of the incident
 Who was involved
 What was done
 Who was notified

6.  If possible, wear disposable gloves,
improvise with polythene bags or
consider whether the casualty can
help, eg apply pressure to bleeding.
 Remember:
 Wash your hands carefully afterwards.
Infection control
 Clean surfaces with bleach diluted 1:10
with water.
 If possible, keep any minor wounds
covered with a plaster.
 Buy and use a resuscitation face shield.
 Dispose of soiled items appropriately.

7. Recovery position

8.  A – Alert – will talk but may be drowsy.
 V – Responds to Voice – responds to
simple commands, eg ‘open your
eyes’, or may respond to simple
questions.
 P – Responds to Pain – will react
(eg make a noise) to a pinch on the
back of the hand.
 U – Unresponsive – there is no
response at all.
Levels of consciousness

9. Causes of
unconsciousness:
 Fainting
 Imbalance of heat
 Shock
 Heart attack/
angina pectoris
 Stroke
 Head injuries
 Asphyxia/hypoxia/
near drowning
 Asthma
 Anaphylaxis
 Poisoning
 Seizures
 Diabetic emergencies

10.  Primary survey
Check for danger.
Emergency life support
for adults and children
1 Check for response.
Speak loudly and
clearly to the casualty.
Ask questions like ‘are
you all right?’.
If there is no response,
shout for help. Do not
leave the casualty.

11. Emergency life support
for adults and children
2 Open the airway.
3 Check for normal
breathing. Look, listen
and feel.

12. Emergency life support
for adults and children
4 If breathing normally, place in the
recovery position.
CALL THE EMERGENCY SERVICES

13.  Basic life support
Carry out a primary survey:
Emergency life support
for adults and children
CALL THE
EMERGENCY
SERVICES
For children
It can be more
beneficial to give
five initial breaths
followed by
cycles of 30:2
compressions
and breaths.
One-handed
compressions
may be more
suitable.
 Danger
 Response
 Airway
 Breathing
 Circulation

14. Emergency life support
for adults and children
1 If not breathing normally, start CPR with
30 chest compressions.
2 Open the airway.

15. Emergency life support
for adults and children
3 Give two rescue breaths. Continue with
30 compressions
and two rescue
breaths until:
 Qualified help
arrives to take
over.
 The casualty
starts to breathe
normally.
 You become
too exhausted
to continue.

16. Chain of survival

17.  Fluid loss – bleeding, burns, severe
diarrhoea or vomiting
 Cardiac problems – heart attack,
electrocution
 Anaphylaxis – severe allergic
reaction to stings, types of food,
environmental features, poisons
Shock: causes

18.  Pale, cold, clammy skin
Shock: signs and
symptoms
 Weak, dizzy, light-headed
 Nausea or vomiting
 Thirsty
 Yawning
 Anxiety or irrational behaviour
 Rapid, weak pulse
 Rapid, shallow breathing
 Dropping level of consciousness

19.  Treat the cause and prevent the
condition getting worse by:
Shock: treatment
 Correct positioning of the casualty
 Reassurance
 Keeping the casualty fairly warm
 Monitoring breathing if necessary
 Do not give anything to
eat or drink

20.  Direct pressure
Bleeding
 Elevate
 Dress

21. Elevation sling
Slings

22. Arm sling
Slings

23. Choking

24. Heart attack position

25. Fractures

26. Nose bleeds

27. Duty of care for other
people’s children
Whilst first aiders would not normally give
medication, youth leaders working with
other people’s children have a duty of care
equivalent to that of a ‘responsible parent’
They are often required to look after or
carry medicines for young children and
sometimes need to administer them
Leaders should always seek parental
permission before doing so

28. First aid kits
A guide to the contents of a kit:
 1 pair of disposable non-latex protective
gloves
 20 individually wrapped sterile adhesive
dressings
 2 sterile eye pads
 4 individually wrapped triangular bandages,
preferably sterile
 6 safety pins
 6 medium-sized (approximately 12cm x 12cm)
individually wrapped sterile unmedicated wound
dressings

29. First aid kits
You may like to include:
 Resuscitation shield
 Scissors
 Extra gloves
 Adhesive tape
 Steripods
 Guidance leaflet (a leaflet supplied with the kit
or that you make yourself which includes brief
instructions on emergency treatment)
 Individually wrapped moist cleaning wipes
for the first aider’s hands