ST. JOHN AMBULANCE

Evening Star, Issue 21515, 13 September 1933, Page 1

ST. JOHN AMBULANCE

BRIGADE ACTIVITIES Considerable activity is being manifested locally in the matter of forming new divisions of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, and it is hoped in the near future to see at least two additions to the strength in Difnedin and others further afield. Numerous inquiries’ point to the success of the proposed division of ex-members of the R.A.M.G. and Ambulance Brigade called for next week.. The date has' been altered to September 19. ■ The Dunedin Division met last week ' at headqdarters, when Ambulance Officer P. C. Wilkinson presided over a' good muster. The subject for the even-' ing was • ‘ Unusual Fractures and In-' juries,’ and members were asked to; bring along cases that had come under] their notice either directly or in-} directly. The result was an interesting; and instructive evening, and it i§ hoped ! that further efforts in this direction will be arranged. Dr Perry delivered i an interesting lecture on the previous! Tuesday on * Injuries Likely to be Met ’ With on the Football Field.’ The annual Cadet competitions for the Auckland district proved very sue-' cessful. There were offered for com-j petition one, challenge shield and five ] challenge Cups. The entries were numerous, most of the local cadet divi-l sions providing teams, and eight medical officers were engaged in judging the! various events. The work was pro-* nounced as being of a high standard' and gave evidence of careful training. SOME SIMPLE RULES. . Even though definite rules may be laid down, much, of necessity, has to be\ left to the discretion of first-aid,men, 1 who must be guided by special circum-1 stances in each case. Observation! teaches that, fin , cases where the in-1 structions are to hasten, many do not', realise the urgent need for that haste, 3 while, on the other hand, there is often 1 a tendency to hustle a patient home] or to a hospital when he would be much] better left for a while to recover from ■, shock. The following conditions are those which need the utmost speed to prevent *, serious or fatal resultsHaemorrhage, S asphyxia, shock, , poisoning, sunstroke,-1 obvious fracture, bums. Haemorrhage.—Once it is realised that uncontrolled bleeding from a large artery or vein means certain death' within a few minutes, no more need be - said upon this point. Of course, to ; cause death quickly bleeding must be profuse, but to leave less profuse haemorrhage unchecked is to cause great weakness and to lessen the patient’s chance of recovery. Asphyxia.—The same urgency exists here. No one can live without breathing, and the chances of resuscitation' lessen as tjie moments pass; therefore it is regrettable when valuable time is wasted over unnecessary preliminaries. : Shock. —The need for haste here is i less obvious but no'less real. It should , be realised that, shock is prostration. ■ caused by the effect on the brain of in- * jury or emotion. We are all subject to shock from the time we enter the world! to the time we leave it. Nature, with! rest and fresh air, will do much to! minimise shock, especially for a healthy! adult, but prompt application ofi warmth and' stimulant (not necessarily, alcoholic stimulant) will help and hasten recovery. We are familiar with the response: “Treat shock, sir.” Do wo ever get the reply: “To prevent shock I would,” etc.? Yet so much'can be done to prevent this condition from developing. As a simple and common example: Someone cuts a finger. Push forward a chair and tell him to sit down. You may notice slight pallor, but very soon the colour returns. ' Keep your patient standing while you control the bleeding and dress the cut, and in many cases faintness or sickness will develop and definite treatment for shock will be needed. Jt must be remembered, too, that the body lying on cold, wet ground quickly loses heat byy absorbing the cold from the ground, whilst the ground extracts heat from the body, so when covering with extra clothing, rug, or blanket, the body must be protected underneath as well as on top, and must be done quickly. f Poisoning.—Promptness in neutralising or removing the poison is everything, and serious shock much be prevented. The need for immediate con--striction in snake bites comes under this heading. ’ Sunstroke.—lmmediately stop the cause by removing the patient into the shade; protect and treat.

. Obvious ■ Fractures.—Where possible control the fracture at once, on the spot, before an unguarded movement by the patient or by some well-meaning bystander can do further damage. ' Burns. —Immediately exclude air.