A common conception of a rescue operation is the fire. At a big fire, an ordinary person can do nothing but make an alarm and possibly warn others, then await fire trucks with skilled fire-fighters using the right equipment to put out the fire. Here, the public is entirely dependent on the rescue team and their operation. However, there are situations when the professional rescuers are not first in line, but instead, public acting is crucial for saving lives. Here is why seconds may count.
It can happen anytime anywhere
A cardiac arrest is a dire emergency that can occur anywhere at any time. If it happens during the day-time in a dense city centre, there will be people rushing to help. And likely, there will be someone nearby with medical training or CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) training who can start resuscitation, and there will be others who can alarm and call an ambulance. Maybe there is even a defibrillator available.
In this situation, the victim’s chances of getting proper medical care in time and surviving are quite good. But, it could be the other way around.
Chances are not always the best
Suppose a cardiac arrest happens at night in a home in a sparsely populated area, and there is only one person present to help the victim. This is an extremely critical situation. First, this person must call for emergency help and then try to keep the victim alive until the ambulance arrives with trained staff and proper equipment.
Here, the victim’s life is in the hands of a non-professional who is experiencing a very stressful situation, and maybe won’t act optimally.
When every second counts – literally
If we look into this situation, two things radically improve the chances of survival:
- Proper knowledge and acting at the incident scene until trained rescue staff arrive.
- Short time to get the victim to the hospital.
Proper knowledge
I think that everyone should have CPR training and thus know what to do in case of cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, both awareness of and experience in CPR vary considerably. Taking a CPR course could really save lives. And, if you don’t have the possibility of a live training course, there are excellent online courses and instruction videos to make sure you know what to do.
Shortest time to hospital
The ambulance staff is trained for medical emergencies and carries the proper equipment. Accordingly, the travel time to the incident scene is even more critical than the transportation of the patient to the hospital.
A skilled rescue driver knows how to drive optimally, considering traffic situations, road conditions and weather. The driver also knows that slippery and icy road conditions will force them to drive slower, which in turn delays the arrival to the scene.
This is why automatic snow chains could be a key factor for arriving on time – and save lives by taking over responsibility from stressed, exhausted non-professionals who happen to be there when accidents occur.
Watch the video and discover what rescue drivers say about automatic snow chains. You can download it below.
