We have had several enquiries about appropriate hygiene on first aid courses with the recent ‘COVID-19’ outbreak. ‘Coronavirus’ is actually a large family of viruses that includes the common cold. COVID-19 is a new (novel) virus that was first discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The exact mechanism of how COVID-19 spreads is understandably not yet proven, but it is very likely spread by the same mechanisms as others in the Coronavirus family. The virus is most likely spread in small droplets created when someone sneezes or coughs. These can spread up to 2 meters. If you cough on your hands, you are likely to contaminate everything you touch. If someone else then touches their mouth/food, picks their nose or wipes their eye with a contaminated hand, they can contract the virus. Follow this government advice to see if there is a risk that you have been in contact with someone with COVID-19. While the chance of being infected is still very low, there are a few sensible things you can do to protect yourself and others. To protect yourself Frequently wash your hands or use a sanitiser gel. Do not touch your mouth, nose or eyes unless you have just washed your hands. The World Health Organisation (WHO) say that there is no evidence that wearing a face mask in public protects you, although this is a wise precaution if you are in close contact (e.g. caring for) someone with a respiratory illness and fever. The patient should also wear a surgical mask if able. The exact time that COVID-19 can survive outside the body is not yet proven, but coronaviruses cannot usually live for more than a few hours outside of the body, so the WHO and the NHS say it is highly unlikely coronavirus can be spread through packages or products received from affected countries.
IMPORTANT CPR MANIKIN HYGIENE ADVICE: The majority of resuscitation manikins have features that help prevent the spread of infection (including respiratory infections such as COVID-19). Here are the options that can be used for manikin hygiene: Alcohol Wipes : MUST be used on the manikin to sanitise the face between learners. An emphasis should be placed on scrubbing the mouth area of the manikin. The chest, nose and forehead of the manikin can be wiped too if the possibility of ‘hand to hand’ transmission is a concern. Two brands of alcohol wipes are azo wipes and manikin wipes. Trionic wipes: are designed to prevent the build-up of invisible ‘biofilm’ on the manikin surface (that alcohol alone does not prevent) and should be used, with an emphasis on scrubbing after every learning session. Trionic wipes take longer to dry so they are not suitable for use between learners practising. CPR Face Masks: For maximum protection we recommend to use wipes and issue each learner with a face shield. Filter face shields are available on a roll for CPR training. They don’t offer complete bio-protection, but they will give a high level of safety when combined with wipes and a manikin that has a one-way valve (see below). Face shields with valves offer the best protection but are slightly more expensive. An obvious advantage to a learner using a face shield in practise is that they are familiar with using one if they ever need to give CPR for real. If a learner re-uses a facemask for repeated CPR practise, they should ensure that the face mask is placed on the manikin same way around each time (so they blow into the same side of the mask each time). Credits: Qualsafe Awards G.Chapman
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Did you know that the government has revealed plans to add CPR to the national school curriculum in England?
The draft proposal sees first aid and CPR being added to the curriculum as part of wider Health Education Classes in England from 2020. With out of hospital cardiac arrest survival rates being up to three times higher in countries where first aid is taught in schools compared to the UK, this landmark move could save thousands of lives each year. The announcement follows years of tireless campaigning to get first aid and CPR onto the curriculum. A key player in which has been Qualsafe’s Medical Director, Dr. Andrew Lockey, Hon. Secretary to the Resuscitation Council (UK), as well as the British Heart Foundation, St John Ambulance and British Red Cross. The draft legislation, which was published on 19th July 2018, proposes that teachers talk about the steps that pupils can take to protect and support their own and other’s health and wellbeing, including learning basic first aid. A public consultation on this has now been published, which allows members of the public to comment on the draft legislation. The consultation asks for individual views on the proposed legislation and statutory guidance, as well as whether or not it provides sufficient information and support to schools in teaching the subject. To show your support and to respond to the government’s consultation, simply click here. The full draft legislation can be found here. After years of campaigning for CPR and basic first aid to be taught in schools, here at Qualsafe, we are thrilled to see this now take a step closer to becoming reality. Paramedic and author of the UK’s No.1 range of first aid training books, Nigel Barraclough had the following to say: “Norway has been teaching CPR in schools for many years and the increase in bystander CPR is the main reason that they have survival rates as high as 25% compared to the UK’s 10%. We would really encourage supporters to respond to the Government consultation.” Credit: Qualsafe Awards Did you know that schools will soon be able to hold generic adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs)? As you may be aware, schools have previously been unable to keep generic AAIs as they were classed as a prescription only medicine. However, following extensive campaigning by the Anaphylaxis Campaign and other leading organisations, new legislation will come into effect on 1st October 2017 to allow schools, preschools and nurseries to obtain these without a prescription, for emergency use on children who are at risk of anaphylaxis but whose own device is not available or not working. The new legislation represents a significant adjustment in the management of children who suffer from severe allergic reactions and it will provide great reassurance to parents, school staff and carers across the UK. Full guidance from the Department of Health can be found here. Whilst it is not mandatory for schools to hold generic AAIs, those who choose to do so should establish a sufficient policy or protocol for their use in line with statutory guidance and ensure that staff have been adequately trained to operate the devices in an emergency. With 17% of fatal allergic reactions in school-aged children happening while at school, we are extremely pleased to hear that AAIs are set to have a permanent place within schools across the UK! If you wish to find out more about ‘Generic Pens in Schools’, simply click here to visit the Anaphylaxis Campaign website. Credit : Qualsafe Awards As you will be aware, the current guidelines advise that first aiders should aim to give 15-20g of glucose for the treatment of low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia).
However, it has been announced that Lucozade Energy will be lowering the sugar content in all of their flavoured drinks by more than 50% from April 2017, meaning that 20g of glucose will no longer to be the equivalent of 150ml of Lucozade Original. From April 2017 any first aider who gives adult hypoglycaemic casualties Lucozade Original should aim to give 160ml – 225ml. For hypoglycaemic children, this amount should be 115ml. Training providers can simplify the advice given to first aiders as follows: For adults, give 200ml of either Lucozade, Lemonade, Cola or pure fruit juice. 200ml of any of these drinks should contain between 15g - 20g of glucose. It is likely that both the new and old bottles of Lucozade will be available to the public in the upcoming months. In addition, the reason for the change is the introduction of the 2018 sugar tax in the UK, so it is likely that other fizzy drinks will also see a reduction in their sugar content in the near future. We therefore recommend that first aiders always check the labels of any Lucozade products and other fizzy drinks they are giving. Credit: Qualsafe awards |
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