Keeping someone alive until help arrives — First Aid at Work Practice

Sample questions

1. 01You find a joiner collapsed on a landing. They do not respond to a shout or a gentle shake, and a plasterer is standing nearby. Who does RCUK say should ideally ring 999?

   • ANobody until the site manager has been told
   • BThe plasterer, while you stay with the casualty
   • CYou, but only once you have finished checking breathing
   • DThe casualty’s employer, once they are found

   Why: RCUK says 999 should be called as soon as possible for anyone found unresponsive, ideally by a bystander, so you can stay with the casualty and assess breathing. Only if nobody else is there do you make the call yourself, and even then before you assess breathing. Waiting to tell a manager or an employer first delays the ambulance.

2. 02You are alone with an unresponsive colleague and ring 999 on your mobile. Why does RCUK say to put the phone on loudspeaker?

   • ASo the call is put through to a crew faster
   • BSo you do not have to give your own name
   • CSo your hands are free while the handler guides you
   • DSo the call is logged automatically for the site accident book

   Why: RCUK says to use the speaker so your hands stay free for the casualty: you assess breathing while the call connects, and the call handler then talks you through what to do. The speaker does not log the call or speed up the dispatch. It is about keeping both hands on the casualty.

3. 03The site’s appointed person has had no first-aid training, and HSE says an appointed person should not attempt first aid they have not been trained for. A colleague collapses and is unresponsive and gasping. What can the appointed person still do?

   • AUse the AED, but leave compressions to the trained
   • BCall 999, give compressions as told and use the AED
   • CCall 999, then stand back until a first-aider arrives
   • DNothing hands on, as HSE rules out untrained first aid

   Why: HSE’s point about appointed persons is about their job role in giving treatment. In a cardiac arrest, anyone, appointed person or not, can call 999, give compressions as the call handler instructs and use a defibrillator. RCUK says untrained rescuers give continuous chest compressions, the call handler talks them through it, and anyone can use an AED. Standing back, or leaving compressions to someone trained, leaves the person without CPR.