Basic Life Support

Assessment of a collapsed patient – use acronym DR SCAB

- Danger
o Ensure that the environment would be safe as there could be multiple
hazards in a hospital (wet floor, cables)
o It is important for both your safety and the safety of the victim
o If environment can’t be safe, get other agencies such as fire brigade to make
it safe
- Response
o Check to see if patient is responsive
o “shake and shout” – stabilise the patients head and shake them by the
shoulder
o Shout “Hello, can you hear me” “Are you alright”
- Shout for help
o Shout “HELP” and someone could hear you or you may be alone
o If someone does come to assist you, then you need to continue the
assessment of patient
o You need to provide clear instructions
- Clear airway
o Keep head and neck stable, need to check inside the mouth
o Remove any visible obstruction or loose fitting dentures with index finger
o DON’T do a blind finger search as this could potentially close the airway and
push things towards the airway
- Airway open
o Open the airway by tilting head and chin (place fingers under chin and lift,
then push forehead back)
o The mandible would be elevated
- Breathing assessment
o Maintain the head and chin life and use this manoeuvre to assess the
breathing
 Look to see if the chest is rising and falling
 Listen for any breath sounds
 Feel on the side of the face for any breathing from the patients nose
or mouth
o Do this for 10 seconds
o Also look for any signs of life such as movement and eye flickering
o If the patient is breathing, then put them in the recovery positon

Getting help
- Once you have established that the patient is not breathing, then ensure that help is
on the way
- Call 999 or 2222 (if in a hospital)
- Need to use this protocol
o Situation
o Background
 o Assessment
o Recommendation

Chest compressions
- Ensure you are at an appropriate level with the patient
- Place heel of one hand on top of the patient’s chest and your heel on top of that
hand
- Interlock your fingers and the heel of the hand is at the midpoint of the sternum
between the sternal notch and the xiphosternum
- Depress the sternum to a depth of 5cm
- Repeat this for 30 compressions (apply for a rate of 100/minure)

Ventilation
- After 30 compressions, this is what would need to be done
- There would need to be 2 ventilations
- Establish the head and chin lift and place the pocket mask over the patients mouth
o Position yourself at the top of the patients head
o Use the thumb and index finger to hold the mask
o Blow into the valve
- Give 2 effective ventilation – see the patients chest rise by blowing over 1 second
- Then need to continue compressions

When to stop CPR

- Shouldn’t stop CPR unless
o Patient shows signs of life
o Help arrives
o You are overcome by exhaustion
 If patient shows signs of life, then place them in the recovery position

Recovery position
- Arm nearest to you at a right angle
- Other hand put palm onto the cheek closest to you (so they lay on it when rolling
over) – keep it there
- Other arm – bend the furthest knee
- Gently roll their knee so they face you
o Move bent leg towards you
- Tilt their airway back so it opens

Choking
- Cough
- 5 back blows
- 5 heimlch
- repeat 3 times
- start CPR