First aid is the immediate care given to an injured or ill person until the health services arrive. It can be given by anyone with calm and common sense. It does not replace a doctor.
The PAS rule
- Protect: make the area safe. Do not become another victim. If there is fire, electricity or gas, move away or cut the power safely.
- Alert: call 112 or ask someone else to. Give your exact location and say what has happened.
- Aid: care for the person carefully, starting with what is most serious: that they are breathing and not bleeding heavily.
General rules
- Do not move the injured person unless they are in immediate danger (for example, fire) or you suspect they are not breathing and they need to be laid down.
- Do not give them anything to eat or drink if they are unconscious or very dazed.
- Reassure them and do not leave them alone.
- Do not do what you do not know how to do.
Bleeding
Press directly on the wound with a gauze or a clean cloth and keep up the pressure without lifting. If it soaks through, add another cloth on top. Raise the area if you can and call 112 if the bleeding is serious.
Minor wounds
Wash your hands and use gloves if you have them. Clean the wound with soap and water, cover it with a clean dressing and report it if it becomes infected or is deep.
Burns
- Cool the area with cool water for at least 10 minutes, ideally about 20.
- Remove rings and clothing that is not stuck to the skin.
- Do not burst blisters and do not apply creams, oil or toothpaste.
- Cover with a clean dressing. For extensive burns, burns on the face or on the hands, go to A&E.
Chemicals on the skin or in the eyes
Wash immediately with plenty of water, for about 15 minutes in the case of the eyes, and remove contaminated clothing. Take the product's safety data sheet when you ask for medical attention.
Electric shock
Do not touch the person while they are still in contact with the current. Cut the power first. Then check whether they are breathing and call 112, even if they seem to be well.
Choking
If the person is coughing forcefully, encourage them to keep coughing. If they cannot cough, speak or breathe: give 5 back blows between the shoulder blades and, if the object does not come out, 5 abdominal thrusts (the Heimlich manoeuvre). Alternate both until it is cleared or the person loses consciousness.
Loss of consciousness
- Speak to the person and gently shake them by the shoulders. If they do not respond, call for help.
- Open the airway by tilting the head back and lifting the chin.
- Look, listen and feel for normal breathing for no more than 10 seconds.
- If they are breathing, place them on their side (recovery position) and call 112.
- If they are not breathing normally, call 112 and start resuscitation.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
- Place your hands in the centre of the chest, one on top of the other.
- Compress hard and fast, at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute, letting the chest come back up.
- Alternate 30 compressions and 2 breaths if you know how to give them. If not, carry on with compressions only.
- If there is a defibrillator (AED), use it as soon as it arrives and follow its voice instructions.
- Do not stop until the emergency services arrive or the person moves.
The first aid kit
Real Decreto 486/1997 requires a portable first aid kit in every workplace. It must contain disinfectants and antiseptics, sterile gauze, cotton wool, bandages, tape, adhesive dressings, scissors, tweezers and disposable gloves. Check it and report if supplies are missing or products are out of date.
There must be a first aid room where more than 50 people work, or more than 25 if the labour authority so decides.