Covid 19 First Aid
Guidance
Carrying out CPR during the Pandemic:
The following advice comes from the UK Resuscitation Council and
full details can be found here:
https://www.resus.org.uk/media/statements/resuscitation-council-uk-statements-on-covid-19-coronavirus-cpr-and-resuscitation/covid-community/
Adult CPR:
There is an increased risk at the present time of cross
infection between the responder and the casualty. The
majority of this risk comes from carrying out mouth to mouth
ventilations. The latest guidance for adult CPR is to do the
following:
- If you feel that the casualty may be a victim of Covid-19 or
carrying the virus then carry out the modified steps below.
- Recognise cardiac arrest by looking for an absence of signs of
life, no breathing and lack of colour. Do not carry out a
head tilt chin lift and place your cheek close to the mouth.
- Call an ambulance using 999 and put on speaker phone.
- Cover the casualties face with a towel or something similar (To
stop droplets coming out of the airway)
- Carry out chest compressions in the normal way at a rate of
100-120 beats per minute.
- If there is a defibrillator available then you should use this,
there is no additional risk form this and you may save their
life.
- After you have carried out CPR then you should wash your
hands thoroughly with soap and water; alcohol-based hand gel
is a convenient alternative. You should also seek advice from the
NHS 111 coronavirus advice service or medical adviser.
Child CPR:
We are aware that paediatric cardiac arrest is unlikely to be
caused by a cardiac problem and is more likely to be a respiratory
one, making ventilations crucial to the child’s chances of
survival. However, for those not trained in paediatric
resuscitation, the most important thing is to act quickly to ensure
the child gets the treatment they need in the critical
situation.
It is likely that the child/infant having an out-of-hospital
cardiac arrest will be known to you. We accept that doing rescue
breaths will increase the risk of transmitting the COVID-19 virus,
either to the rescuer or the child/infant. However, this risk is
small compared to the risk of taking no action as this will result
in certain cardiac arrest and the death of the
child.
General First Aid Guidance:
If you are carrying out first aid on a member of your own
household then the risk of you catching the Covid-19 virus is
pretty irrelevant, if they have it, then so do you!
If you are carrying out first aid on somebody who is not a
household contact then you should follow the advice from the
European Resuscitation Council:
- The use of PPE (gloves, masks, eye-protection, etc) may not be
applicable to all first aid, but care should always be taken to
protect the casualty and the first aid provider.
- If the casualty is responsive and able to follow selfcare
advice, provide first aid advice from a safe (2m) distance. If the
casualty has a face cover/ mask available, encourage them to wear
it while being cared for. Family members, if willing, may be
coached to provide direct first aid. It may also be necessary to
provide dressings, bandages, etc. from outside the immediate
contact area.
- If the casualty is unresponsive or unable to provide selfcare
then it may be necessary to provide direct care. However, the
casualty and the first aid provider must be aware of the risk of
virus transfer.
- Sequence of actions for bystander care of a casualty outside of
the household: • Call for medical assistance immediately.
- Where possible wear gloves when touching or handling the
casualty.
- Wear a face cover/mask if available and consider placing a face
cover/ mask over the face of the casualty.
- Only handle/touch what is absolutely essential, remembering
that all surfaces in and around the casualty may be contaminated by
the virus.
- Only provide essential direct first aid in order to limit your
exposure time. This may include controlling significant bleeding,
applying a dressing, use of an adrenaline autoinjector, assessing
for responsiveness by shaking the person and shouting, and
positioning of a casualty.
Following completion of first aid treatment, it is essential
to:
- remove and dispose of any PPE
- wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water for at least
20 seconds
- wash all your clothing as soon as practicable
- be prepared to self-isolate and follow national guidance if you
develop COVID-19 symptoms after providing direct first aid
