The changing frontiers of First Aid – Valuing the criticality and revisiting the approach of a life-saving moment

By Anjali Singh, Manager, Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI)

Through sheer presence of mind and application of basic first aid skills the chance of saving a life increases exponentially. A trained individual is reliable and confident to tackle a critical situation and provide comfort to the injured till the emergency services arrive. They can also play an important role in relaying relevant and vital information to doctors which would help save crucial time.

With over 1.3 billion people dying every year as a result of road accidents, the recent observance of ‘World First Aid Day’ focused on ‘First aid and road safety’ as the need is for a fresh approach to enhance first aid delivery especially for a country like India, which alone accounts for 17% of the these deaths became evident.

With India also being infamous as the cardiovascular disease capital of the world, the need for first aid education is paramount. The statistics are alarming; it reveals thatevery 4 minutes, a person is affected by heart disease. This makes cardiac arrest one of the most common heart conditions in the country that can be life-threatening, if not acted upon on time. In these situations, basic first aid techniques like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be the difference between life and death.

Saving lives through awareness

Some of the basic first aid techniques everyone must know are CPR, controlling blood loss, Heimlich manoeuvre, treating a burn, fracture care, reversing frostbites and preventing anaphylaxis. These lifesaving skills are crucial not only at home but also in public spaces, schools and offices.

The need for widespread knowledge of first aid becomes even more important given the overburdened healthcare infrastructure and dismal emergency services in India. And while there are some awareness programs and first aid skill initiatives, to truly make an impact a strategic approach is required. To facilitate this, the government needs to look at partnering with key stakeholders to impart awareness and promote the need for first aid training. It may also be worthwhile to look at including mandatory first aid training in the process of applying for a driver’s licence (private & commercial). Other initiatives which can nudge first aid awareness could be by introducing first aid training programs for government employees and by making it mandatory for private enterprises also to ensure that a percentage of their staff know the basic first aid techniques. This will not only create more trained first aid responders but will also bring in an increased awareness of civic responsibilities.

Upskilling First Aid givers with technology

Over the last decade, the focus has shifted from immediate response to pre-emptive analysis with the help of the collection of real-time evidence through smartphones and wearable devices. With constantly evolving technologies like IoT (Internet of Things), AI (Artificial Intelligence), cloud computing and data analytics, the dynamics of first aid are set to witness a change. These technologies also play a vital role in awareness, training and upskilling first aid responders in health emergencies. The predictive analytics which IoT will enable will support workers with alerts, from the time a patient sitting at their home misses a vital dose of their medicine, to any abnormal tremor in their hands while they use the spoon, to the time their gait changes, which is predicting a fall.

Additionally, these workers will need e-literacy and digital fluency along with the other physical first aid skills so that the man-machine interface can change. Machine enabled predictive analytics, Artificial Intelligence are already galloping, therefore human skills to operate efficiently on these interfaces also needs constant upgradation. The government is already sensitive to this and through their various healthcare and other sector skill councils need to further encourage those companies which are training lakhs of Health Care Workers annually for their upskilling.

Lessons from the World and Way forward

How first aid is perceived in India today is very different than how it was perceived a few decades ago. However, we still trail behind global best practices. In countries like New Zealand and Australia, the awareness on first aid and CPR is widely spread, in Denmark to get a driving license one needs to undergo a mandatory 8 hours first aid training, and students in over 38 states of America have to compulsorily take up CPR training to graduate from high school.

In India, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare needs to urgently collaborate with other relevant government ministries and departments for e.g. road and transport, labour, industry and urban planning which could effectively enforce first aid awareness and training in the country.

The compulsory training in accident-prone industries such as real estate, construction and chemicals could help in mitigating any future mishaps. Offices with large number of employees, public places like metros, bus depots, malls, railway stations, airports, hotels, group housing, local markets should also have AED (automated external defibrillator) available readily.

Having witnessed how the COVID-19 pandemic led to a tectonic shift in healthcare deliveries, we now need the cross-sectional engagement of stakeholders to be future ready. This is where the public-private partnership could play a vital role in creating synergy among the government, industry, academics, associations and NGOs, etc. and will enable a 360-degree approach in effectively handling emergencies in the country.