In the event of a medical emergency,
the timely actions
taken by people at the scene can often mean the difference between life and
death. As such Ambulance services are crucial in ensuring that both
precious human life and time are saved, when transporting an injured or
critically ill person whilst under medical supervision, to the nearest hospital
or medical facility.
Ambulance
service companies, often encounter the question “How quick does it take for
Medical Crews to be on scene?” ...well, EVERY incident is
ALWAYS different due to the availability of ambulances, the area
where patient is located, the time of day hence amount of traffic
encountered, as well as the condition of the patient as some would
require major medical intervention on-site before they can be safely conveyed
to hospital.
As
Medical Air Rescue Services (MARS) our mission is to save lives by
providing excellent pre-hospital emergency and critical care, anywhere in
Zimbabwe and beyond . MARS is a complete emergency medical solution
comprising “Road” and “Air” medical transportation backed by highly
trained qualified medical professionals and state-of-the-art equipment on board
all our ambulances.
WHAT TO DO IN AN
EMERGENCY ?
·
The most important thing
to remember is to try remain calm, and call for an ambulance immediately.
·
Say what is wrong with
the patient/what has happened ?
·
Give approximate age and
sex, as well as any other past medical history if known,
·
Also state Medical Aid
membership if known, as this helps where we take the patient to hospital,
·
Provide accurate
directions to your location,
·
Where spinal injury is
suspected, do not move the patient, unless his/her life is being threatened
·
Call back if condition
deteriorates before ambulance arrives so you get more advice on how to continue
managing the patient.
Here are some tips on “what to do”
in cases of Emergency we commonly encounter at home, in schools and in
the workplace ! Please remember that these “First Aid Basics” are merely
guidelines, and we strongly recommend that people should attend a Basic First
Aid Course.
CHOKING
·
Hit
the person firmly on their back between the shoulder blades 5 times to dislodge
the object.
·
Then give 5 quick
abdominal thrusts. To do this, Stand
behind the choking person, join your hands around their tummy and form a fist.
Pull your hands sharply inwards and upwards to give abdominal thrusts (this is called Heimlich Maneuver).
·
With babies under one
year old, turn face down, support head and neck, deliver blows with heel of
your hand between shoulder blades. (This creates pressure in the airway, which
is often enough to dislodge the object, and allow them to breathe again.)
SEVERE BLEEDING
·
Apply CONSTANT direct
pressure to stop or slow
down the flow of blood, placing clean bandages when dressing
becomes blood soaked. You do not need to use something specific to do this; it
can just be your hand, a t-shirt or a towel.
·
The
pressure will help the blood to actually form a clot or “plug” and stop the
bleeding. This could take 5, 10 or even 15 minutes. If not, call for an ambulance.
·
Do not wash a wound that
is bleeding heavily, as you will actually wash away the “plug”/ clotting agents
and make it bleed more.
·
If there is an embedded
object in the wound, do not remove it. You may not believe it, but it is
actually helping to plug the wound. Therefore removing it, may make the
bleeding worse. Leave this to the medical experts.
POISONING
AND OVERDOSING
·
Call for an
ambulance immediately. Stay with victim and assist as necessary
·
After swallowing a
NON-CAUSTIC (non burning) poison give one teaspoon mustard or raw unbeaten egg
in a glass of water to induce vomiting.
·
After swallowing CAUSTIC
(burning) poison give milk in as large a volume as the patient can drink.
BURNS
·
Cool the burn under cool
running water for at least ten minutes as soon as you possibly can. (This will reduce pain, swelling and any potential scarring.)
·
Do not put butter or any
oily substance on a burn. Oils retain heat in- being completely opposite to
what you want to attain.
·
We often reach for ice-
seems like a logical decision. We use it for so many other solutions. Ice,
however, is not a good idea either. It can further damage the skin.
·
Do not try to remove
anything that is already stuck on the burn wound
·
Take to a hospital If the burn affects more than one area of the body, or is larger
than the size of the person’s hand, and if the burn covers hands, feet, joints
or face
FITS
·
Do not restrain.
·
Protect patient from
hard or sharp objects that may be nearby.
·
Turn head to side if
vomiting. Do not try to place anything between teeth.
SUSPECTED
BROKEN BONES
·
If a broken bone is
suspected obtain expert medical help
·
Immobilize the broken
bone if possible.
FEVER
·
Treat with
Paracetmol.
·
Use cool water sponge
baths to cool for temperatures over 40°C.
·
Seek medical attention
if temperature does not decrease
OBJECTS IN EYE & EYE
INJURIES
·
Wash out with water if
object in lid or floating in eye.
·
(CHEMICALS) - Flush with
water for 10 to 15 minutes while holding eyelid open.
·
Seek medical attention.
HEART ATTACK
·
Place victim lying down
on back.
·
Call for an ambulance
immediately and proceed to give resuscitation or CPR if trained to do so.
ASTHMA ATTACK
·
A person having an
attack will have difficulty breathing and speaking, and may cough and wheeze.
With this anxiousness and distress will arise, while they continue to struggle.
·
Help the person sit in a
comfortable position and help them take their medication (if they have any)
whilst you continually reassure and calm the person.
(A
mild attack should ease within a few minutes.)
·
If their medication has
no effect, they become exhausted and talking becomes difficult, or they stop
breathing - call for an ambulance immediately.
·
Whilst waiting for
help to arrive, tilt their head backwards to open the airway, and
pulling the tongue forward.
·
If no breaths are
felt, start chest compressions to give resuscitation or CPR if trained to do
so.
Children that are having emergency
asthma attacks are usually hard to handle because they usually have a hard time
understanding and expressing what is happening to them. Parents or guardians of
asthmatic children must be keen and sensitive enough to know or sense when
their child is already showing signs and symptoms of an asthma attack.
Do not ever make the grave mistake
of making asthma patients lie down during their attack, it will only make it
more difficult to breathe.
DIABETIC EMERGENCY
·
When a person’s
blood sugar levels become too low or too high, and is left untreated, a
diabetic emergency can actually result in a coma or death.
·
Common symptoms for both
too high (hyperglacemia), or too low (hyperglacemia) sugar levels can be
:-
- intense hunger,
- convulsions,
- profuse sweating,
- drowsiness or confusion,
- weakness or feeling faint or
- sudden loss of consciousness.
·
Keep in mind that the
person experiencing this should be able to tell you that they are diabetic
(unless it is the first time).
·
Give them something
containing sugar (A drink, a sweet, a glucose tablet). This will raise their
sugar levels and improve bodily function.
·
Even if it is actually a
high level of blood sugar which may cause you to worry that there is too much
sugar in their body, the real problem is not the sugar, but the lack of
insulin. Additional sugar at this point will not do significant harm.
·
Call an Emergency
Medical helpline if their condition does not improve, if they have trouble
breathing, or they become unconscious.
MARS
Training School
MARS has a Training
School that offers a variety of courses. It is
also the only training school in Zimbabwe that is accredited by the
Resuscitation Council of Southern Africa to conduct American Heart Association
courses in Basic Life Support for Health Care providers and Advanced
Cardiovascular Life Support. The training school offers courses in : -
v Industrial Accident and Emergency Care Course
v Cadet Corps Programme (Schools First Aid Training)
v Aviation Specific Accident and Emergency care
v Emergency Medical Despatcher Course
v Ambulance Technician (AT) Course
v Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Course
v Basic Life Support (BLS) for Health Care Professionals
v Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) – (American
Heart Association)
v
Sports Medicine
For further information, please contact the following
:-
Ivy Chanakira
Senior Marketing & Account Executive
2 Fairbridge Avenue, Belgravia, Harare , Zimbabwe
Mobile : +263 0773
017171 / 0772 134784
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