No one expects an accident;  but it happens. You're driving down the road and come upon a traffic crash. You're walking back from the supermarket and someone collapses in front of you. Worse, one of the children does something. What would you do? Would you know what to do?

Here are five simple things to do:

1. Take a deep breath. A dramatic situation often paralyses our thoughts and reactions. Take a deep breath and get the oxygen flowing back to your brain. Take several and register the oxygen going in. Concentrate on breathing slowly and deeply so that the adrenaline has time to calm down. When you're ready look closely at the scene and assess how many people and what's wrong. Look for any medic alert, mediband or medical id bracelets.

2. Call the emergency services  and be able to describe the scene and give an address. Cast about for street signs and/or street numbers because this will save the emergency vehicles precious minutes. List the numbers of people requiring assistance and what's wrong. Keep the phone on and ask for advice on what top do next.

3. Work through the scene; if you are the only person present, assess quickly what needs doing and to whom. Your priority is to ensure everyone is able to breathe so check airways and, if you believe there is no spinal damage, roll individuals into the  recovery position. If other people are present, yell for help and direct individuals to individual tasks; don't just call for general help. Others will assume others will do the tasks - you need to be specific about who and what.

4. Keep the emergency operator on the line; ask for advice. Help the most critically injured people first. If you need first aid kits or blankets, ask bystanders to get them while you stay at the scene.

5. Relax. Continue breathing deeply and surely. Direct your brain to remain calm. If you're nominally in charge at the scene, no one will be helped if you're out of control and panicking. Stay cool, continually assess the injured and stay on the line to the emergency people. Be ready to direct the responding services to the most severely injured.

Have you thought about MedibandPlus? This medical alert track and trace system can help save lives. Did you know - medication errors harm at least 1.5 million people per year. MedibandPlus has a code on it that medical personnel can access in the event of your incapacitation. They can access your:

  • Emergency contacts
  • Allergies
  • Current medications
  • Medical notes (eg blood type)
  • implant history
  • ...more

Of course, some activities are just an accident waiting to happen...

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