4 Basic life support

The principles of basic life support, or first aid, are to save life by removing danger, to treat urgent symptoms and to prevent extension of injuries. You also need to avoid doing harm by carrying out treatment which you are not trained to do. Your employer should provide basic life support training. All workplaces will have a health and safety procedure to outline what to do in an emergency, and you must ensure that you are familiar with it. You must also be familiar with your patients’ care plan, for example if they are known to have any condition that could lead to sudden illness (such as a diabetic coma, or an epileptic fit), and how you should respond.

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Figure 8 Putting a casualty into the recovery position

3.1 Infection prevention and control

5 Awareness of mental health, dementia and learning disability