Aid instruction plan

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32879, 30 March 1972, Page 2

Aid instruction plan

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON. March 29. In an effort to avoid unnecessary suffering to the injured on highways, a plan to provide first-aid instruction for road users was launched today by the president of the Automobile Association (Mr T. M. N. Rodgers) and the acting chancellor of the Order of St John (Mr A. T. GandeD). The course is designed to equip drivers and passengers with basic first-aid knowledge so that they can give emergency help to accident

victims and deal with minor mishaps, from stings to cuts, which befall people on picnics or on the beach.

A joint statement from the A.A. and St John’s says that when road accidents occur the first people on the scene are invariably motorists who, though willing to help to tend the injured, are often restricted from doing so because of their lack of basic medical knowledge. The course will, therefore, concentrate on emergency treatment, and will emphasise what not to do in certain circumstances. Instruction will be given by trained St John officers throughout the country. The course will consist of four one-hour sessions or two twohour sessions, spread over two or four weeks.

The sessions will include , practical demonstrations of how to restart the accident victim’s breathing, how to

stop bleeding, methods of treating bums, what to do when a person has broken bones, and how to deal with the unconscious patient Early and efficient first-aid would greatly reduce the death rate on the roads, the Governor-General (Sir Arthur Porritt) said today. Supporting the course, he said everyone should be trained in first aid. "It is, however, physically impossible for more than a limited number to be given a formal course and to gain certificates. “This is not a very satisfactory situation, especially as during the last few years the national conscience has been stirred by publicity given to accidents, and the human suffering and economic loss they involve,” he said.

Sir Arthur Porritt is prior of the Most Venerable Order of St John.