32 01.4 S, 115 31.8 E
We attended a St Johns Ambulance first aid course at the weekend. Terrific and really good value. Everyone should do one, especially parents and anyone associated with a club – well everyone really. Scary to learn that the first 3 minutes after someone stops breathing is the critical period.
It was a general first aid course, so I didn’t have high hopes of getting good customised advice about remote area first aid (there’s a 2 day course for that*, but none available until after our departure). I did expect some sensible guidance however, but the clearly the trainer, whilst very competent, was really a plain vanilla type:
Trainer: “Never give the patient any food or water because they may need to have an operation”
Student: “If we’re in trouble in the Kimberleys somewhere, with temperatures in the mid 30’s and rescue maybe 6 hours away, isn’t dehydration a bigger risk?”
Trainer: “Umm…”
(She was from Middlesbrough after all, so ‘remote’ was perhaps, what? Leeds?)
Anyway, the point of the blog is about equipment. The St Johns Action Plan in a medical emergency is:
D Check for danger
R Check for a response
S Send for help
A Check and clear airway
B Check for breathing
C CPR (if not breathing)
D Defibrillate
So, the question is, do we lash out $3000 or so for an automatic defibrillator?
Here’s a good article on the use of defibrillators in the field – (http://www.remoteemergencycare.com/documents/aed_use_in_the_field.pdf)
and here’s an interesting chart from another paper-
So, the research seems to be that a defibrillator will dramatically improve your chances of survival if applied promptly and if rescue is less than 30 minutes away. Chasing down this latter point, I found an interesting note on response times to Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons or EPIRB’s (http://beacons.amsa.gov.au/documents/beacon_brochure2011.pdf):
“Rescuers must wait for confirmation of the beacon’s position before sending a search & rescue team. “
“Non GPS – Orbiting satellites will calculate the position if there is no GPS capability (on the EPIRB). These orbiting satellites take 90 minutes on average to receive the signal but it may take up to 5 hours depending on the conditions. More information is needed to determine the real location. This usually means at least two satellite passes &/or independent intelligence is required to determine a location and this takes more time. Non GPS has a location accuracy of 5km.”
“GPS – Has a location accuracy of 120 Metres. Location is provided by geostationary satellites within minutes.”
Hmmm ….. Now given that I am in my fifties (AKA the Heart Attack Death Zone), there are only two of us on board, that radioing for help will take 5 minutes or more and rescue within 30 minutes is only going to be possible with a GPS enabled EPIRB, the plan seems to be:
Buy a GPS enabled EPIRB and an automatic defibrillator
- In an emergency, forget about radio, just activate EPIRB and commence CPR/Defibrillation immediately
- In a spare moment, put the VHF radio on channel 16 for communications with rescuers when within range.
Morbid? Moi?
* Remote Area First Aid – Content
- Planning and preparation
- Managing the remote situation
- Infection control and hygiene
- Observation and documentation
- Basic life support
- Trauma management
- Bites, stings and allergic reaction
- Environmental conditions
- Casualty movement
- Safety and survival
- Communication
- Rescue and evacuation preparation
- Principles of triage and care of the deceased
Ok, this is starting to read more like the diary of a shopaholic than a sailing blog. It will take the emergency services 8 minutes to find your address in Subiaco if you called in a heart attack, so do you have a defibrillator currently?
I love the irony that you will be sailing in the most crocodile-infested waters in the world without a hand gun but with a defibrillator. At least you can zap one if it attacks, so long as it gives you time to get up to the full charge.
How about just going to the Docs and paying for an angiogram instead?
errrmmm …….. ‘you will be sailing in the most crocodile-infested waters in the world’ – whoa!!! you never mentioned that in your invite!!!!!!! Can you please leave Perth now, go the FAST option an I’ll meet you in Cairns in early August – thank you very much
TNA, quite right – like most of the population who’ve never done a first aid course (or, like me, did it quite a few years ago) I never realised that there were defibrillators that could be used by untrained people. If more knew I suggest there would be more defibrillators in the home and/or car.
The more cogent argument is the one that says it’s probably not worth it because help is likely to be more than 30 minutes away. But that sounds to me like “Life insurance is not worth it because you’ll probably never need it”. Just to put that in context Defibrillator = 2 months life insurance for me. What does your missus think?
As to crocodiles, as long as you don’t swim and take a few sensible precautions, no issue. I’d far rather take that risk rather than risk shooting myself (or worse, the better half) in the arse with a gun.
Little Sister, don’t fret, the sharks or the poisonous jellyfish will get you long before the crocs.
…. just a quick update on CPR – apparently the Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” provides the right beat for CPR compressions – who’d a thot it?
I hope you don’t need a defib but I would suggest that it is a safety measure too far. Like the mangle.
And just buy a little gun please.
Those great British Bee Gees never fail to make me proud.
Probably right on the defib. I’ve decided not to have a heart attack on this trip.
A little gun I think would just annoy a croc and provide a false sense of security. A large calibre handgun would be the minimum I would think. Feel free to bring one on your leg if you wish.
Ok, I’ll swing by the western suburbs on my way to the airport.
OK, but please get some firearms training prior departure.