Course coverage

 

Unit 1: Understanding the Roles and Responsibilities of the First Responder

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Providing care in an emergency requires a wide range of knowledge that underpins the practical aspect of emergency care. Ensuring you have a sound understanding of this knowledge will help you to make confident and competent decisions about what actions to take in the event of a medical emergency so that you can manage an incident effectively from the point of your arrival at the scene to handing over to definitive pre-hospital care providers.

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In this unit, you will learn about the responsibilities you have when carrying out emergency care. You will learn about how to manage the scene and those in attendance at the incident to keep yourself, bystanders and casualties safe from a variety of potential hazards and risks. You will gain an understanding of how to safeguard the vulnerable people you may meet and the actions you should take should you become aware of a potential safeguarding concern. You will go on to learn how to prevent and control infection, including the responsibilities of both yourself and your employer.

 

Finally, you will explore the processes and procedures that the first responder is responsible for following the management of the casualty.

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While this unit assesses your underpinning knowledge and understanding, you will also have the opportunity to explore the practical skills that apply to these roles and responsibilities. In doing so, you will begin to develop the associated skills required to confidently and competently manage incidents involving a range of casualties requiring emergency care as presented in Unit 5: Developing the Competencies of Incident Management for the First Responder.

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Unit 2: Emergency Care of Casualties for the First Responder

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Understanding how to manage casualties with life-threatening injuries or illnesses is vital for all care providers from first aiders to registered healthcare professionals. The primary survey is designed to quickly identify the risk posed to life and inform your decision making in terms of the casualty's management needs so that you can act swiftly and confidently to maintain life in the critical moments before the arrival of definitive pre-hospital care.

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In this unit, you will learn about the key principles of providing basic life support to adults, children, infants and special casualties such as pregnant women and neck breathers. You will also learn about the techniques used to clear, open, maintain and manage the airway of casualties with a reduced level of consciousness. You will develop your understanding of how to recognise and manage situations where certain factors may preclude the provision of life support.

 

You will explore the provision of supplementary oxygen, including the correct dosage and methods of delivery for a range of casualties. You will go on to learn about how to recognise casualties suffering from catastrophic haemorrhages and how to manage these using tourniquets. Finally, you will explore how to manage casualties choking as a result of both mild and severe obstructions.

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You will develop your knowledge and understanding in a theoretical context, and you will also, in a simulated environment, practically explore the principles and techniques used by the first responder to assess casualties and provide initial emergency care. This will enable you to develop specific skills for assessment within this unit but will also prepare you for the final synoptic unit in which your ability to competently manage incidents involving a wide range of casualties who require primary and continuing assessment, basic life support and other aspects of emergency care covered in this unit.

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Unit 3: Recognising and Managing Trauma for the First Responder

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Casualties that the first responder is likely to encounter include those who have suffered traumatic injuries. From casualties who have fallen from height to those suffering from burns, the first responder needs to be able to effectively assess, recognise and manage the casualty suffering a traumatic injury or illness before handing over to definitive pre-hospital care providers.

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In this unit, you will learn how to recognise and manage the trauma casualty who may have suffered thermal injuries, exposure, drowning, musculoskeletal injuries, head injuries, spinal injuries or chest injuries. You will learn how to recognise and manage a casualty suffering with hypovolaemic shock, the different types of bleeding and how to manage these casualties. You will also develop an understanding of how to apply correct manual handling to prevent injury to yourself and the casualty, as well as how to package the casualty appropriately ready for transfer.

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During the unit, you will not only develop your knowledge and understanding in a theoretical context but also, in simulated environments, you will practically explore the principles and techniques used by the first responder to recognise and manage casualties with trauma-related injuries or conditions. This will begin to prepare you for the final synoptic unit in which your ability to manage incidents involving casualties requiring trauma care competently will be assessed.

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Unit 4: Recognising and Managing Medical Conditions for the First Responder

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Survival rates of casualties suffering from common medical conditions are greatly increased by early recognition, early intervention and early transport to definitive care. As a first responder, you will play a key role in managing the casualty in the early stages of pre-hospital emergency care in order to preserve life, prevent further deterioration and promote the casualty's recovery.

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In this unit, you will learn how to recognise the vital signs and symptoms of casualties suffering from poisoning, allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, breathing difficulties, cardiac conditions, diabetic emergencies, seizures, stroke, meningitis, septicaemia and other potentially life-threatening medical conditions. You will learn how to, within your scope of practice, provide clinical management to casualties presenting with these conditions, how to handle and position the casualty to ensure they are comfortable and safe from further risk, as well as how to observe and record information required for the clinical handover to the next echelon of care.

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You will develop your knowledge and understanding in a theoretical context, and in simulated environments you will practically explore the principles and associated techniques used by the first responder to recognise and manage casualties with common medical conditions. This will begin to prepare you for the final synoptic unit in which your ability to manage incidents involving casualties presenting acute common medical conditions competently will be assessed.

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Unit 5: Developing the Competencies of Incident Management for the First Responder

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As the first responder, you may be called to attend incidents involving casualties with a wide range of clinical needs, some of which could be closely associated with specific job roles that you undertake in your professional career such as major chest injuries and prolonged exposure to the extremes of temperature.

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However, as you will already have learned in Unit 1: Roles and Responsibilities of the First Responder, the role of the first responder goes beyond that of clinical management and requires you to take responsibility for the wider scope of managing incidents, including scene management and safety. When you attend such incidents, you will be required to make decisions about how to manage your own and others' safety as well as how to manage the packaging and movement of casualties.

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You will have already completed Units 1 to 4 in which you should have developed your knowledge and understanding of how to manage the casualty and, the wider incident as the first responder, and explored a variety of skills and techniques used in order to provide appropriate management to casualties while awaiting the arrival of definitive pre-hospital care.

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In this synoptic unit, you will explore and use the knowledge and understanding that you have previously developed to develop and demonstrate the skills that are essential to competently manage incidents from the point of your arrival on scene to the completion of the post-incident procedures. You will develop your confidence and competency in using your knowledge, skills and understanding in simulated environments covering a range of incidents, including casualties who have suffered a cardiac arrest, a casualty suffering with traumatic injuries, a casualty suffering from major traumatic injuries and a casualty with an acute medical condition.