Here I am going to talk about the primary survey - ie the first actions you need to take on discovering any casualty.
The easiest way to remember the primary survey is to learn the acronym 'DRsABC'.
D = Danger
R = Response
S = Shout (for help)
A = Airways
B = Breathing
C = Circulation
DANGER: The first thing you must do in any situation is check for danger: firstly to yourself and any bystanders, then to the casualty. The worst outcome is if you become a casualty as well, therefore doubling the work for the emergency services and delaying the vital treatment needed for the original casualty.
Danger could be anything from broken glass, loose wires and needles, to other people, animals and weather (such as a lightning storm).
If it is safe to do so, remove the danger - for example by standing on a telephone directory and using a wooden broom handle to knock live wires away from a casualty who has suffered an electric shock. If it is unsafe to approach the casualty, phone the emergency services and monitor from a distance.
RESPONSE: Next, you must check to see if the casualty is responsive. If they are talking or crying out in pain, you can skip this step, as they are clearly responding.
Response is measured using the AVPU scale:
Alert
Voice
Pain
Unconscious
If they are alert, they will respond as normal. If they are responsive to voice, they will be able to squeeze your hand if you tell them to, for example. If they are responsive to pain, if you pinch their ear, they should react in some way. If they do not respond at all, they are classed as unconscious.
To check for a response on a casualty who appears unconscious, approach from the feet and call 'Hello, can you hear me, can you open your eyes for me?'.
If you get no response, kneel beside the casualty and firmly shake the shoulder, calling 'hello can you hear me, can you open your eyes, I'm a first aider' etc in BOTH ears (in case the casualty has suffered damage to one).
SHOUT FOR HELP: If you deem the situation to be serious, shout for help. When a bystander comes to help, tell them to standby and prepare to phone the emergency services. You will not require them to make the phone call until you have completed DRsABC, as you won't have enough information.
AIRWAYS: You must keep the airways clear, and check there is nothing blocking them. To do this, place one palm lightly on the forehead of the casualty. With the other hand, use two fingers to open the mouth, by pulling down on the chin - do not put your fingers in the mouth!
Tilt the head back (performing the head tilt and chin lift), to open the airway. Have a look to see if there are any foreign objects in the mouth, such as chewing gum or vomit. If the object is right on the lips you can remove it, if it is any further back, leave it alone, as it may cause the casualty to choke, or if they start having a seizure they could accidently bite your fingers off!
BREATHING: To check whether or not the casualty is breathing, place your cheek above their mouth, and look down the chest for 10 seconds. You are seeing whether you can HEAR them breathing, FEEL the breath on your cheek, and SEE their chest rising and falling.
CIRCULATION: At present, C stands for Circulation, which is a quick visual check to ensure the casualty is not bleeding severely (eg an arterial bleed).
After you have completed your Primary Survey, pass the information onto the bystander making the 999 call, and tell them to let you know how long the ambulance will be. You will then either carry out the recovery position for an unconscious casualty who is breathing, or cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for an unconscious casualty who is not breathing; both of these will be covered in later blog posts!
Hope this helps - if you have any questions, please feel free to comment below! Remember this varies slightly around the world - this is the UK version, for area specific information, let me know where you are from!
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