2.2: Contacting the emergency services

Contacting the emergency services

First Aiders will either contact the emergency services themselves or instruct a bystander to do so. Contacting the emergency services at the earliest opportunity is paramount. When contacting the emergency services on either 999 or 112, it is important that the information given is clear, concise and sufficient. This can be achieved by remembering the acronym LINE.

L = Location

I = Incident

N = Number of casualties

E = Extent of injuries

Prioritising the treatment of infants and children

After conducting a primary survey and contacting the emergency services, casualties should be placed in an order of priority and treated accordingly. This order is as:

BREATHING      BLEEDING      BONES/BURNS      OTHER CONDITIONS

In certain circumstances these priorities can be changed. For example, if an infant or child had a broken leg and a small finger cut then the broken leg would be treated before the bleeding finger.