Remote First Aid - Diamonds dive in!

Being prepared is key to managing an incident and can mean the difference between surviving a critical incident or not.

By Clare

Thinking through evacuation strategies, having a working communication device and a stocked first aid kit that you know how to use, is a priority. We value knowledge, skills and preparation at Diamonds and so the Remote Area First Aid course was an exciting addition to our Diamond 2021 calendar.

Always on the lookout for adventure and pushing our comfort zones, a dozen diamonds signed up for the Remote First Aid course delivered by All Aid First Aid.

Despite missing our usual Saturday morning Track Attack and being grateful for a slight sleep in - we were a bit wide-eyed and possibly a tad apprehensive about how tough the course might be.

Our very experienced trainers, Margot and Alice put us right at ease and we started with some basics and a CPR refresher.

Stayin' Alive

Did you know - every year, over 33,000 people experience an out of hospital cardiac arrest? (NSW Health, Jan 2020)

As a Diamonds coach and group fitness instructor, I update my certification annually, but I would recommend everyone considers doing it at least every couple of years.

What’s great is that the CPR guidelines seem a lot less complicated than when I did my first course many years ago.

After reviewing the current guidelines we all had the opportunity to practice our adult and infant CPR, before being assessed.

So realistic

By far the most challenging and rewarding part of the weekend was taking part in the rather realistic practice scenarios. To be honest, we were really pretty much just thrown in to administer first aid, without any clues as to what we would face.

Scenarios on the first day included unconscious diabetics, lower legs cuts/grazes, snake bites, typhoid - a tropical disease, applying tourniquets (aka the tongs), and practising various slings. It was a rather tiring day.

Then we were told… tomorrow, don’t wear anything that you are scared to get dirty. (eek)

The second day of practice scenarios looked something like this.

“This is thriller”….  six casualties, dressed in nauseating props, were found following an overenthusiastic camper had thrown an accelerant on the fire (!): resulting in burns, sticks protruding from limbs, fingers severed, a missing hand, embedded glass, shock, fire danger and both conscious responsive and unconscious patients.

“Rock on dude” … four casualties following a rock-climbing fall: head impact injuries (suspected spinal), compound fractures, hyperthermia, rockfall danger and again, both conscious responsive and unconscious patients.

“Car surfing Troy” … a less remote but very challenging scenario of a multi-vehicle accident, featuring a missing casualty, an obnoxious drunk driver, a trapped pedestrian, trapped passengers, compound fractures, head impact injuries, shock, and once again, both conscious responsive and unconscious patients. This scenario also included a CPR requirement.

We did cover a few other less complex but still challenging role plays such as suspected heart attacks (question – do you know what heart attacks look like for women?), stroke, poisoning, choking and sprained ankles.

How did we manage?

You know what. It was nerve-racking at times.

I think we all were out of our comfort zones by a long way at some point throughout the weekend. But we came together, settled our nerves, used fantastic teamwork and communication skills.

What surprised me most?

Slowing down.

What I hope I can remember if I find myself facing a complex confronting situation is to stay calm. Take some breaths, recall the DRSABCD rule.

(Danger, Response, Send for Help, Airways, Breathing, CPR, Defib)

What can you do next?

1. Review your personal first aid kit. Although your coach will have a full kit, having a basic first aid kit is an excellent idea. Check out what’s in Michele’s first aid kit on our blog.

2. Add the emergency + app to your phone, invaluable for when issues arise on a trek

3. Add the First Aid, by Red Cross app to your phone. Plan to review a section once per month, and take the related quiz.

4. Pack a notebook and pen, incase you have to relay casualty vital signs, symptoms etc. to emergency services.

5. Download the St John's fact sheet - CPR adult or child

6. Download the St John's fact sheet - DRSABCD

7. Review any of the other St John’s fact sheets – First aid

Our debrief

A few of us had a well earned refreshement at the local to debrief – here are some of the learnings

·       Ann: review first aid kit, add pen & paper, carry watch for measuring vitals

·       Sandra: take a deep breath, don't rush, assess and think

·       Janet: Sprained ankles, taking lots of time to assess, RICER before moving on

·       Meghan: DRSABCD, taking time to observe, look after yourself and others before casulties

·       Jo B: CPR, feel so much more confident after the refresher

·       Jo: Importance of working together and using strengths of the group memebers

·       Alison: Avoiding diagnosis mode, be investigative, get good patient info to share to emergency services, treat symptoms

·       Jenny: Learnt technique for management of choking, especially infants

·       Clare: Print acronyms (e.g. DRSABCD, SAMPLE, TOTAPS) include in notebook and ensure pen available, tell group where my first aid kit is