FIRST-AID AND RESCUE WORK

New Zealand Listener, Volume 7, Issue 158, 3 July 1942, Page 10

FIRST-AID AND RESCUE WORK

[This is the third of a series of BBC talks by Wing-Commander

P. I.

Hodsoll

C.Be,

Inspector-General, Ministry of Home Security. These talks are broadcast by the main NBS stations at 6.30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings]

OW I want to talk about first-aid services on the spot, the firstaid parties, ambulances, and first-aid posts, There’s one golden rule always to be remembereda badly injured person should be got to hospital as quickly as possible and with the least possible movement, We've trained our first-aid parties, which consist of three men, or women, with a driver, to do the minimum amount of first-aid on the spot. During a raid it’s no time for what I might call competition standards of first-aid. It’s the time to do just what is vital to enable the casualty to be got to hospital with the least possible further injury and the least possible discomfort. The first-aid post is here to deal with minor injuries. It may be that arrangements in your countries will have to be modified, and that first-aid posts might have to be used more as a small hospital. But as far as possible we’ve always avoided taking badly injured casualties to the first-aid posts. Firstly, because it hasn’t the facilities of a hospital, and secondly we are always anxious to avoid filling up the first-aid posts with cases which can’t be moved. The first-aid party must work very closely with the rescue party, and we are aiming at the amalgamation of these two services. We've some mobile first-aid posts. That is to say, the equipment of a firstaid post kept in a lorry or van with a doctor and a team of nurses which can go out and do first-aid on the spot. And when we have a big incident, we try if we can to get a doctor there. The presence of a doctor is very reassuring to injured persons. First-aid parties must be taught especially to make up_ their minds quickly whether a casualty is a hospital case or not. We thought this might be difficult, especially in darkness, but we’ve found that they’ve done this work extremely well. ’ Stretchers and Blankets It’s very important that the first-aid party has stretchers with it. All our first-aid private cars, which take the personnel to the scene of an incident, have four stretchers, very often strapped to the roof. of the car. The ambulance has another four stretchers too. If a person is badly injured the quicker he can be got on to a stretcher the better, and above everything else the warmer he can be kept the better. People do suffer quite a lot from shock very naturally, and a proper supply of blankets is of great importance. The sort of first-aid we find wanted most in air raids is that to deal with bad bleeding, shortage of oxygen, shock, injuries to the head and spine, burns and scalds, and of course, a proportion of ordinary wounds, fractures and dislocations, And don’t forget the ever-present risk ofwounds getting infected, especially when there’s so much dust about.

Finally, I need hardly remind you that one of the most important bits of equipment in a first-aid post is a teapot. " One of the Toughest Jobs " _ The rescue service has got one of the toughest jobs of the lot. They’re based on depots and have their special equipment, and they have very intensive training in their work, A rescue party consists of either 10 men and a driver or seven men and a driver, Many prefer the smalwer number because in a lot of jobs only one or two men can work at a time, We used a good many builders in rescue parties to start with, but with good training I think any man can do this work, provided he’s physically fit. The big lesson we’ve learned from raids in this country has been the importance of tunnelling to rescue people from collapsed buildings. If people are trapped in a building which is on fire, the fire brigade is responsible for rescuing them. But apart from this we’ve not found that much rescue work is required from upstairs, though this side of the rescue party training oughtn’t to be neglected, especially the rescuing of trapped casualties and even people who might have to be brought down on stretchers. Technique of Tunnelling We teach our rescue parties, therefore, the technique of tunnelling, which bears of course a good deal of relation to tunnelling in a mine. It’s a tricky job, however, and a slow job. Rescue party leaders should make a special study of the different types of buildings in the place where they may have to work and particularly what they happen to do if they are hit by a bomb. If the building is big it has often been found essential to have a plan available so that the work of rescue may be properly carried out and with the least waste of time. Water and Gas There are one or two points of importance to remember always. One is whether flooding is occurring and is likely to affect persons trapped or affect the operations. If so the water engineers may have a very urgent job to do. Sometimes there’s coal gas about, which means that gas engineers are required, and we've discovered a dodge by means of which a service respirator can be fitted with a long tube up to 120 feet long, a %-inch rubber tubing, which will enable a man to go into an area of coal gas with the end of the tube in the fresh air, and sometimes effect rescues which might be otherwise impossible, Rescue work is tiring, and there’s always so much dust about after a bomb has exploded. We find it better to work men hard for short spells, two hours at a time and then a rest. It’s particularly important that there should be a canteen or some means available by which they can be given food and a hot drink. And this applies to all the other services as well.