CART What Are The Three Ps In First Aid?
Ten or more courses at just £6.49 each
First aid and the three Ps in the workplace
First aid is a vital skill for anyone to learn. Amazingly, a 2001 study found that 8/10 parents admitted that they wouldn't know how to give basic first aid procedures to save their child's life. This blog post aims to share some of the basic principles of first aid giving and why you should strongly consider taking a first aid training course.
First things first, what are the three Ps in first aid? The three Ps in first aid is an easy framework for responding to a medical emergency. The three P's stand for preserving life, preventing deterioration, and promoting recovery.
Read on to find out how to apply these P's to an emergency situation and why first aid training will help prepare you for any scenario.
In order to remember the three main goals for first aid, you may think about the “Three Ps” – Preserve / Prevent / Promote. Here's how each part of the framework aims to help you respond to an incident.
1. Preserve life
In an emergency situation, preserving life is your first priority. You might open an injured person's airway or perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for example.
The goal of every first aider should always be preserving life. This applies to you as well! Avoid putting yourself or others in harm's way.
For this reason, prior to assessing a casualty, you should conduct a risk assessment and check for potential hazards to yourself or others nearby. The most sensible course of action is to remain back and call for help if a situation is too dangerous to approach.
2. Prevent deterioration
The second objective of first aid is to stop a casualty's condition from deteriorating further. For example, an injured person with a broken leg may be asked to stay still and padded around the injury to avoid further injury or pain.
3. Promote recovery
Lastly, you can facilitate recovery by arranging for prompt emergency medical treatment by calling medical services if required. Further, the ability to provide basic first aid to an injured person can affect the long-term recovery of that individual. One instance of where swift action can save the day is when a burn is quickly treated with cool water, reducing the risk of long-term scarring and facilitating early healing.
If you are reading all of this and thinking that maybe you should enroll in a first-aid training course. The benefits of doing so are numerous:
1. First-Aid Save Lives
The ability to provide basic first aid can make all the difference in the world. A study by the Red Cross found that 59% of injuries that led to death were preventable if first aid had been administered prior to the arrival of emergency services.
2. Training Helps You Keep Calm Under Pressure
First aid training gives you valuable life skills. One of the skills first aid training provides is the ability to deal with the stress of medical emergencies. This is the main reason why people learn first aid, and why organisations are required by law to have first aiders who can respond under pressure.
3. Training Improves Your Self-confidence and Self-esteem
First aiders gain self-confidence and self-esteem through their training as they acquire authority and leadership skills, which enhance their performance not only in emergencies but also throughout their lives.
Serious about taking a course? We previously wrote a blog about first aid certification and why you should consider it. A first-aid certificate lasts for a period of three years. When certificates expire after three years, a first aider ceases to be considered a competent first aider and cannot act as the workplace first aider.
During any three-year certification period, the HSE strongly recommends that first-aiders undergo annual refresher training, lasting about half a day. Although it is not mandatory, this will allow first-aiders to maintain their basic skills and keep up with any changes to first-aid procedures.
The majority of first aid courses are designed to cater for first aid in the workplace. The most common types of first aid training at work are:
- Emergency First Aid (EFAW) training enables a first-aider to give emergency first aid to someone who is injured or becomes ill while at work.
- First Aid at Work training includes EFAW and also equips the first-aider to apply first aid to a range of specific injuries and illnesses.
- Online First Aid at Work training - HSE recently introduced blended learning which means basic first aid training can be given virtually.
As well as regular first aid training, many companies are introducing mental health programs and mental health first aid training in the workplace, through coaching providers like Sanctus. Mental health is as relevant as physical wellness when it comes to issues you (or your employees) may encounter at work.
If you are an employer, you should look into first aid training for your employees as it is often a great team-building exercise, not just peace of mind. If you are an employee, why not petition your boss to provide training for all staff so that you can make sure that you can do everything that you can in order to save lives.
At HSE Docs, we are expert providers of online first aid training for work, and prices start from as little as £4.99 making it a cost-effective way of ensuring all of your employees are suitably trained and have the certification to prove it.
Once you have completed the course, your employees will have instant access to your training certificate. This is recognised by Environmental Health Officers and local authorities and is valid for three years.
If you have any questions regarding our online first aid at work training courses, please don’t hesitate to get in touch here. You can also give us a call on 0800 933 61 61.