Going to the scene: heading to the scene as quickly and safely as possible to treat and the help the patient in need without endangering the patient’s life further this would mean the paramedics need to be safe and at the same time fast when going to an accident scene to maximize safety for both the paramedics and the patient. ABC procedures: making sure the injured patient is breathing by tilting back the chin and looking for obstructions then checking the circulation. This is important to get the patient back in shape or breathing normally.
”When a paramedic arrives at a scene they check for hazards so that they can work safely without endangering the patient’s life further”. ”They have a system called triage which means deciding which patient needs attention first straight away”, an example would be someone who has been hit by a car to someone who has fallen of their bike. The person that has been hit by a car would be treated first because there condition is more serious. Patients with breathing or circulatory problems are treated first the paramedics then follow the ”ABC procedure of first aid”.
”A is for airways they make sure the airways are open by tilting back the chin and looking for any obstructions”. Then the paramedic would check for breathing that would be rule B they give mouth to mouth ventilation if it is needed. Then comes C which is for circulation, if the person has no heartbeat they give CPR, if there is still no heart beat the paramedics would give the patient oxygen and take them off to the hospital as soon as possible. They sometimes have to use tubes to keep the airways open.
Patients who are treated next are people of ”major trauma such as broken limbs or large wounds”. Someone that is losing allot of blood will need to be treated quickly to staunch the flow. ”Someone with a head injury might have dilated pupils or blood in the whites of their eyes. Or their walking or speech may be affected”. (Information used from textbook). ”The patients with broken bones need to be treated straight away. A broken femur can be dangerous. The muscles in the thigh are so strong they tend to push the bone up into the abdomen. That when you need traction”. (Information used from textbook).
(Some of the information above was used from OCR Additional Applied science life care textbook it has been indicated in quote Taking blood pressure Usually a paramedic would take a patient’s blood pressure in order to know how well the patient is doing. When a paramedic takes a patient’s blood pressure he/she looks at two types of number. One of the numbers is called the systolic blood pressure it is the largest number when someone’s blood pressure is taken.
The other number is the diastolic blood pressure this is the smaller number when someone’s blood pressure is taken. A blood pressure would be measured by a sphygmomanometer. A normal blood pressure would be 120/80 mm Hg. 120 is the systolic blood pressure and 80 is the diastolic blood pressure. The reason why a paramedic would want to take a patient’s blood pressure is to see how well the patient is doing. A high blood pressure could mean an increased risk of stroke or heart attack whereas a low blood pressure would indicate below normal blood pressure and could lead to some symptoms such as dizziness and fainting.
Measuring pulse rate
Cardiac monitor: this is used when a patient has a severe cardiac or heart complaint for example a patient’s heart that has stopped during an accident this is the kind of equipment that a paramedic would use. Collapsible wheelchair: this is to move patients out of confined places such as road accidents or other places for example if a patient cannot move a paramedic would use this kind of equipment. Medical kits: to treat a patient with various types of reasons such as cuts or wounds this will help the patient recover sometimes or stop the bleeding.
Stretches and boards: to move patients and for different purposes. Oxygen: to treat patients suffering from breathing/respiratory problems. Blood pressure cuff: measure and record patient’s blood pressure. An example of when this equipment would be used is when someone has had an accident and their blood pressure needs to be checked. Spinal collars: head, neck and spinal injuries to keep the patient still to prevent further injury. Example would be patient who has cracked their neck during an accident. Airways management set: keep patients airways clear and open. And example would be a patient who has had a cardiac arrest.