Crisis-Ready Society
Scenarios / Health, home & road

First aid essentials

In many emergencies the first minutes matter most, before professional help arrives. This page covers the basics: stopping heavy bleeding, the recovery position, when to call for help, and why to take a proper CPR course.

Sensible basic preparation
In the UAEIn the UAE dial 998 for an ambulance and 999 for police from anywhere; hospitals give stabilising emergency treatment free.[7]

Before

  • Take a first aid course or learn the basic skills from online videos.[5]
  • Download a free first aid app to learn and practise first aid.[5]
  • Keep a first aid kit at home and another in the car.[6]
  • Find out where first aid kits are kept at your workplace.[6]
  • Check the kit regularly and replace used or expired items.[6]
  • Add emergency phone numbers and any personal medicines to your kit.[6]

During

  • Heavy bleeding: press firmly on the wound with any cloth you have.[1]
  • Call emergency services, or ask someone nearby to call, and keep pressing until help arrives.[1]
  • If an object is stuck in a wound, leave it in and press around it.[1]
  • If they seem pale, cold or dizzy, lay them down, raise their feet and keep them warm.[1]
  • Unresponsive but breathing: tilt the head back, turn them on their side and call for help.[2]
  • Unresponsive and not breathing: call for help, then push hard on the centre of the chest.[3]
  • If a defibrillator is available, switch it on and follow its spoken instructions.[3]
  • Treat noisy, irregular or gasping breathing as not breathing.[2]

After

  • Stay with the person until help arrives.[4]
  • Call back if their condition or your location changes.[4]
  • Turn on lights, or car hazard lights, so responders can find you.[4]
  • Gather their medicines and tell paramedics about any known allergies.[4]
  • Restock any first aid supplies you used.[6]

Watch

Short how-to videos for this topic are being added to our channel.
Watch Crisis-Ready Society on YouTube

Official sources

  1. British Red Cross: Bleeding heavily
  2. British Red Cross: Unresponsive and breathing
  3. British Red Cross: Unresponsive and not breathing
  4. NHS (UK): When to call 999
  5. British Red Cross: Learn first aid
  6. American Red Cross: Make a First Aid Kit
  7. UAE Government Portal (u.ae): Handling emergencies

Steps are written in our own words from these pages. If advice from your local authority differs, follow your local authority.

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