Response to Incidenta

When incidents occur, there are steps or procedures that people will have to take in order to ensure the safety of those who are in potential harm and to prevent others from also getting hurt. These procedures could be the difference between someone surviving or gaining in a critical health condition.

Unconsciousness

The first incident that we are going to talk about is; a resident falling unconscious whilst participating in a group activity within the home.

This will cause alarm within the other members of the home therefore since there will be more than one member of staff in the home (due to staff to service user ratio), one of the staff members’ will have to address to the bystanders of the incident to tell them to remain calm- because then the other members can attend to the victim of the accident.

If the bystanders are not told to remain calm or taken out of the way, then they could delay time in which the carers could aid the victim. For example, another resident may have a panic attack due to hassle that is occurring around them which would result in attention and time being directed to them instead of the main victim.  So as a way to prevent this it is vital that you explain to them that by them remaining calm they are aiding in you being able to act fast to help the person in need.

Time is incredibly critical when dealing with someone who has fallen unconscious as they are in an extremely vulnerable position. There are many causes as to why someone might become unconscious; these can range from low blood sugar to severe dehydration. Assuming that the person is of old age they might have fainted because their heart is beating at an irregular rhythm.  

When this happens there are certain steps that the person aiding the victim should take, their main priority is to make sure that the person is not in harm’s way.

• They should check if whether the person is breathing.  If they are not breathing then they should call 999 immediately or get a bystander to if they are not able to. ( this is so emergency services are aware of what has happened and are sending paramedics in order to take the victim to the hospital)
• If they are breathing, lay the person on their back. And call out to them to see if there are any signs of response.
• If they are unresponsive, check to see if there is any obstruction in their airways.
• Check again to see if they are breathing, coughing or moving. If these signs are absent perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until emergency help arrives.

CPR is a way to treat someone when they stop breathing.

[pic 1]

However there are certain steps as to how to perform CPR accurately.

• Lay the person on a firm surface.
• Kneel next to person’s neck and shoulders.
• Interlace your dominate hand over your non dominate hand with your knuckles facing down.
• Place the heel of your hand over the centre of the person’s chest.  Make sure your elbows are straight and move your shoulders above your hands.
• Use your upper body weight and push straight down on the person’s chest then release the pressure.
• Repeat the procedure again until emergency help arrives.

However to minimize potential injuries, only those who are trained in CPR should attempt to perform this procedure. If the person is not fully trained I would advise them to put the person into the recovery positon if the victim is breathing. A concern that may arise is if the person is breathing and you try to perform CPR you could possibly injure them further than what they already are. A way to prevent this would be for the service user to give the appropriate treatment for the correct injury. Also another way to prevent this would be to check if the person is breathing when you are performing CPR that way you are ensuring that you are not further injuring the victim.[pic 2]