Month: April 2019

Gosford Council lifeguards have completed this years pre-season training at Avoca Surf Club with Vital First Aid, this being about the 18th year with Vital. The lifeguards refreshed their skills in beach rescue, oxygen use, advanced first aid skills, CPR and defibrillation as well as spinal care. Once again the lifeguards showed an extremely high level of professionalism which can only work to keep our beaches safe again this year.

National Rugby League ( NRL ) and Vital First Aid join forces to ensure the safety and well being of every rugby league player in Australia.

Vital First Aid is very proud to have been named the as the RTO responsible for training Sports Trainers Nationally – re accreditations and Level 2 . This is a huge honour for us to have been selected by one of Australia’s leading sporting groups to provide the underpinning training for all trainers in Rugby League nationally.

We have the honour of bringing Nationally Recognised training to Sports Trainers as well as giving them the opportunity to consolidate their training and receive a full Certificate III in Sports Trainer – this level has never been offered to these sports trainers before.

Concussion in Sport is such a hot topic but also an incredibly emotive one. As a parent I want to know if my child has sustained a concussion and I also want to know that those caring for him/her have the knowledge to safely and affectively deal with the injury. A new website has been created with some fantastic resources for players, parents, sports trainers, first aiders and doctors.

Concussion in Sport

Headaches are extremely common and typically nothing more than annoying. They usually respond to over the counter analgesics. As first aiders however we should never disregard the potential for a patients headache to be more serious than it first appears especially if the patient has come to you requesting assistance.

A few key points to remember:

• has the headache come on following a blow to the head ? if yes, the patient should seek medical assistance
• is the headache different from past headaches ? if yes, the patient should seek medical assistance
• has the patient any other symptoms. (Remember the FAST accronym)  eg facial or limb weakness, speech difficulties – slurring of speech etc ?  .  If yes, the patient should seek medical assistance

Parents and teachers are being warned to prepare for a spike in asthma emergencies when children return to classrooms for the start of the 2015 school year.

The National Asthma Council Australia says that the 1 in 10 school children with asthma face a significant increase in the risk of asthma flare-ups and hospitalisation during the first few weeks of the school term.

“The phenomenon of ‘back to school asthma’ is well known, and the common cold is likely to be the culprit,” said the Council’s Chairman, Dr Jonathan Burdon AM.

Research suggests the spike may be prompted when children are exposed to cold and flu viruses on returning to the classroom. A new study has found that these viruses are associated not just with serious asthma flare-ups, but also with day-to-day asthma symptoms such as wheeze, cough and chest tightness.

“Even in the summertime, viruses are common and readily spread around school classrooms, which can lead to asthma flaring up in children, and cause a spike in hospitalisations and days off school due to asthma in the few first months of the school year.

“Factors such as stress, a change of environment or allergens and less strict asthma management over the holidays can also lead to asthma problems,” Dr Burdon said.

Back to School Checklist for Parents of Children with Asthma

Recommendations from the National Asthma Council Australia to help children have a healthy start to the school year:

• Ensure your child has an up-to-date written asthma action plan prepared by their doctor
• Give the school or childcare a copy of your child’s asthma action plan and tell teachers and staff if your child requires help with using their puffer
• Get your child back into their daily asthma routine before the school year begins, including taking preventer medications every day if prescribed
• Pack a reliever puffer and spacer in your child’s school bag – check that the puffer isn’t empty or out of date
• Make sure your child knows how to use their puffer by themselves (if old enough), or with help
• Ensure your child feels comfortable asking for help or telling their teacher if they are getting asthma symptoms
• Talk to school administrators about possible asthma triggers and whether staff members receive training on how to recognise and respond to asthma symptoms.

“It’s important that preventer medications are taken, when prescribed, and that both children and carers are familiar with their reliever puffer and know how to use it correctly,” Dr Burdon said.

“Taking these preventative measures before and during the first few weeks of school can go a long way to helping keep children with asthma out of hospital.”

National Asthma Council Australia

Several out-of-hospital-cardiac-arrest studies show a significant percentage of people are not in a shockable rhythm. Other studies indicate CPR performed by trained and lay rescuers may be sometimes ineffective. How do we ensure the best possible treatment for both those cases? The HeartSine® samaritan PAD 500P with integrated CPR Advisor™ is quick to shock and is the ONLY AED on the market that provides real-time CPR feedback on Rate & Force without the need for any special sensor or puck. Watch this video to see how we get rescuers to “Push Faster” , “Push Harder” and “Good Compressions”. Heartsine’s Advanced CPR Advisor™ Technology youtube.com HeartSine® CPR Advisor™ for the HeartSine samaritan PAD automated external defibrillator (AED) is a revolutionary technology that provides real-time visible and audible feedback to a rescuer on the depth and rate of CPR compressions

The Australian Resuscitation Council recommends that people renew their CPR certificate every 12 months. This can be done easily by booking into one of our many CPR courses listed on our website. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us……

Our data management system will then remind you every 12 months that you should complete a refresher CPR program.

Courses are available throughout Sydney, Newcastle and the Central Coast.

HeartSine defibrillators have once again shown to the world that they are truly dedicated to saving lives…. the have created the ” Forward Hearts ” program

The Forward Hearts program enables individuals who have survived a sudden cardiac arrest event as a result of a HeartSine defibrillator to potentially save another life by donating a HeartSine samaritan® PAD to the charity or organization of their choice.

HeartSine is committed to saving lives and making Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) readily available in public places. The donation of a defibrillator through the Forward Hearts program provides more individuals with protection and a better chance of survival after suffering sudden cardiac arrest.

HearstSine will also replace the Battery/pad pack in the event that one of their defibrillators is used in a real event.

Vital First Aid is proud to be a leading supplier of HeartSine defibrillators

• There were 120 155 accepted workers’ compensation claims for serious injury or disease,
• males accounted for 64 per cent of serious claims in 2010-11
• the average age of an employee with a serious claim was 42 years old, and

The highest incidence rate of serious claims by industry was recorded by the Agriculture, forestry & fishing industry (21.3 serious claims per 1000 employees)—nearly double the national rate of 11.4.

In 2012 SafeWork Australia developed a new Code of Practice First Aid in the Workplace. This code replaced the document used in the past by WorkCover NSW.

This new code outlines the contents of one kit only as opposed to the previous 3 sizes of kits A, B & C. This has simplified the kits required within workplaces.

To download a copy of this code please click on this link Code of Practice First Aid in the Workplace

If you require any assistance with your requirements please do not hesitate to contact our office