Basic First Aid

“By being prepared and understanding the basics of First Aid, the public can be of great help until the emergency services arrive to take over. Unfortunately, because of all the budget cuts and red tape, that could be a while.” Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer, who doesn't look at all like Jim Davidson, honest guv.

Knowing what to do in an emergency is vitally important. Consider getting some First Aid training and a First Aid kit, becuse god knows the first aid kit industry's been hurting lately. Familiarise yourself with how to deal with some of the more common situations. If someone is injured, the following steps will keep them as safe as possible until professional help arrives:

• If people are seriously injured call 999 immediately, even though if it's a terrorist attack you probably won't be able to get through anyway.
• Keep calm. Keep calm! Ha! As if you've got a chance in hell of keeping calm. Honestly. Who writes this stuff?
• Make sure you and the injured person are not in danger.
• Assess the injured person carefully and act on your findings using the basic First Aid steps opposite - remember, these are not a complete First Aid guide
• Keep an eye on the injured person’s condition until the emergency services arrive, or alternatively, leave them for dead and run like hell. Yeah, I'd go with the second option.

If the person is unconscious with no obvious sign of life, then they're more than likely already dead. Leave them. Unconsciousness	Ick, blood. You want to stay well away from that. It can carry nasty things. Just make sure it doesn't get all over the carpets, and if it does, some proper cleaning stuff will fix it up good as new. Bleeding
The assailants can be stopped by removing the head or destroying the brain. Suitable tools you may find in your shed inclue shovels, cricket bats, and similar items. Zombie attack	Negotiate using sign language, if possible. Failing that, and assuming they aren't armed with futuristic ray guns, run like hell. Alien invasion

If you’d like more information or advice, go to www.redcross.org.uk/firstaid or www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk