What are the Six Priorities in an Emergency Situation?

If you’re going to help in an emergency, it’s important first to consider your own safety – it’s no good running to help an accident victim and getting injured yourself.

In any emergency, it’s important to keep calm and avoid panic responses. Before you rush in, stop, take a deep breath, and survey the scene carefully and logically. Don’t try to deal with a situation in which you could be out of your depth – call or send for specialist help.

There are six main priorities for a first aider / first responder in an emergency situation:

1. Stop to assess the situation – watch out for danger. Your first aim is to avoid anyone else being put at risk – for example, from oncoming traffic in a motor vehicle collision.
2. Make sure it is safe to approach the scene. Never put yourself at risk – it is of no help if you become a second victim. If you cannot help a casualty without endangering yourself or others, call or send for help and keep others away.
3. Make the area safe. Do what you can to protect bystanders and others fromdanger. Protect the patient from further danger.
4. Assess the victim. Check the patient’s response and condition
5. Call for help.
6. Resuscitate and treat injuries as necessary.

One of the most important things you can do in any medical crisis or accident situation is to ensure that the emergency services are contacted fast, and to give relevant information as clearly and accurately as possible.

If you can, send someone else to call for help so that you can stay with the patient or remain at the scene to prevent further danger, and perhaps to give any immediately necessary treatment. Ask the person to come back to confirm that help is on its way.

If there is no one else around and you have to leave the scene, first take a moment to assess the situation and take any vital actions necessary.