Dear Emergency First Response Instructor,

Emergency First Response is pleased to bring you the first quarter 2011 edition of The Responder in electronic format. By scrolling down and clicking on the links below, you'll find the latest information on Emergency First Response programs.

Please email Emergency First Response if you have any questions or concerns.

• New Emergency First Response Regional Headquarters Delivers Expanded Benefits to EFR Members
• Renewal Reminder!
• Translated EFR Posters
• EFR Instructor Trainer Programmes – 2011
• Reminder - Consensus 2010
• British Canoe Union Recognises EFR
• Responders in Action in Cyprus

New Emergency First Response Regional Headquarters Delivers Expanded Benefits to EFR Members

Launch of new office will increase product and customer support offerings for local members.

EFR instructors in Europe, the Middle East and Africa will enjoy a higher level of customer service and support as Emergency First Response offices in the International, Europe and Nordic regions begin to combine forces during 2011. The new regional headquarters, EFR EMEA (EFR Europe, Middle East and Africa), unites the talent and resources of the three offices to provide EFR instructors with an unparalleled level of support, services and products.

“The goal of the new regional headquarters is to move EFR ahead as a market leader in first aid training through a broader range of products and services, and by leveraging resources to make it easier and more convenient for EFR instructors to access products, services and support through EFR EMEA” says EFR Director, Jean-Claude Monachon.

EFR EMEA will be the largest regional headquarters serving more than 20,000 EFR instructors. To meet the demands of this culturally diverse membership, EFR EMEA will extend its service hours, centralize its phone system, expand online services and provide customer support in more than twenty languages. The centralization of services will allow for faster member and student certification processing, consistent marketing campaigns, simplified pricing, easier instructor mobility and more. In addition, the regional headquarters size will increase its ability to interact with and influence government and industry relations.

Mark Caney, Director, Emergency First Response Ltd, emphasized the value in pooling the talent of the three offices. “We are excited about the expansion of capabilities EFR EMEA represents for our instructors. Among the staff of the new office we will have an extraordinary range of talents, including extensive language support.”

EFR EMEA will excel in customer service, sales, business and marketing support and training consultancy. To ensure a smooth transition and uninterrupted instructor support and customer service, the offices will integrate their services throughout 2011. For more information, please contact Erika Hoffman, Tel Nr: +44 (0) 117 300 7803 or email [email protected].

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Renewal Reminder!

If you've not yet renewed your EFR Instructor rating for 2011/2012, don't miss this opportunity to be a part of the world's leading first aid training organisation! Now offering you more business support and development services than ever before, there are many opportunities waiting for you as an Emergency First Response Instructor/Trainer.

Don't delay, contact your local EFR office directly to renew your Instructor/Trainer credential or email [email protected].

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Translated EFR Posters

Are you an EFR first aid business looking for marketing support? Emergency First Response has several A3 posters to assist your marketing efforts. Primary and Secondary Care, Care for Children, Go Pro and a Life Saver poster.

All four posters are now available in the following languages:

Arabic, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian , Italian
Polish, Russian, Spanish

Please email [email protected] for more information or with your poster request.

Should you become an EFR Workplace First Aid Facility you will receive the full suite of marketing support tools found on the Electronic Marketing Toolkit.

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EFR Instructor Trainer Programmes – 2011

The following EFR Instructor Trainer programmes are scheduled to take place during 2011:

• 3 April – Johannesburg, South Africa
• 10 April – Oslo, Norway
• 14 April – Dubai, UAE
• 15 May – Stockholm, Sweden
• 17-18 June – Hettlingen, Switzerland
• 19 June – Helsinki, Finland
• 22 July – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
• 31 July – Warsaw, Poland
• 9-10 Sept – Hettlingen, Switzerland
• 19 Sept – Bristol, United Kingdom
• 15 Oct – Budapest, Hungary
• 30 Oct – Athens, Greece
• 2-3 Dec – Hettlingen, Switzerland

Please contact your local Emergency First Response office for more information or to register for one of these programmes.

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Reminder - Consensus 2010

In October 2010, the American Heart Association (AHA) and the European Resuscitation Council (ERC), two members of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR), released new CPR and Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC) guidelines. Other large ILCOR resuscitation councils, such as the Australian Resuscitation Council, will release their guidelines by the end of 2010. Emergency First Response programmes follow guidelines established by these ILCOR member associations and implement changes whenever protocols are revised.

The 2010 guidelines represent the most extensive research into emergency cardiac care to date. These are based on extensive review of various studies, literature, debates and discussions by international resuscitation experts.

The new guidelines do not show a great change from Guidelines 2005, and further reinforce emphasis on providing effective chest compressions with minimal interruptions. Studies have shown the importance of providing fast, effective chest compressions as a critical aspect in treating a patient who has suffered cardiac arrest.

Most practices such as the compression to ventilation ratio of 30:2 have not changed. A summary of the changes in administering CPR and AEDs for both ERC and AHA follows:

ERC CPR changes:

ERC First Aid changes – not yet published. If any changes are published these will be announced in The Responder in due course

AHA CPR changes:

AHA First Aid Changes

Allergic Reactions:

• For patients carrying an epinephrine kit, help patient use it following directions. If symptoms of anaphylaxis persist despite epinephrine administration, first aid providers should seek medical assistance before administering a second dose of epinephrine.

Heart Attack:

• First Aid provider are encouraged to advise the patient to chew 1 adult (non-enteric-coated) or 2 low dose “baby” aspirins if the patient is complaining of chest pains and does not history of allergy to aspirin and no recent gastrointestinal bleeding. This may be performed after activating the EMS system.

Venomous Bites and Stings:

• When treating for snake bites, apply a pressure immobilization bandage around the entire length of the bitten extremity. This is an effective and safe way to slow and disseminate venom. Care must be taken to ensure the pressure bandage is not too tight. You should be able to slide a finger under the bandage.
• Treat Jellyfish stings by liberally washing the affected area with vinegar (4%-6% acetic acid solution) for at least 30 seconds to inactivate venom and prevent further envenomation. After the nematocysts are removed or deactivated, the pain from jellyfish stings should be treated with hot-water immersion when possible.

Required implementation is 31 March 2011. To keep EFR courses current and internationally applicable, course materials are being revised to reflect these recent guidelines.

For detailed references see the 2010 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC and the ILCOR CoSTR document in the journal Circulation at www.circ.ahajournals.org, and view the ERC Guidelines 2010 at www.cprguidelines.eu.

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British Canoe Union Recognises EFR

The British Canoe Union recognises the Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care course for the purposes of meeting the requirements for the "Coaching" qualification.

Set up in 1936 to send a team to the Berlin Olympics, the British Canoe Union (BCU) is the lead body for canoeing and kayaking in the UK. The BCU is the umbrella organisation for Canoe England, Canoe Wales, Canoe Association of Northern Ireland and the Scottish Canoeing Association.

"All active Coaches have a responsibility to maintain a current first aid award, to ensure they can look after paddlers in their care. Coaches sign a declaration upon registration for our Coaching qualifications accepting this responsibility. Holding a valid first aid award is also part of the BCU Coach Update Scheme; Coaches who meet these requirements are recognised by the BCU as being active and up-to-date."

For a list of approved first aid training providers go to: http://www.bcu.org.uk/coaching/first-aid/approved-courses/.

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Responders in Action in Cyprus

After a day’s diving on the Zenobia we were returning to the dive centre when we saw there had been a serious road traffic accident.

A small Vauxhall had turned in to the path of a scooter with 2 persons on it. The scooter had obviously been travelling at speed as one injured woman was approximately 25 meters away from the scene of the accident on the other side of the car. She had a very large, deep wound in her right thigh, and was very shaken up. The scooter was unrecognisable, and the driver of the scooter had received a massive head wound and a deep wound to his left shoulder. Both had come over the vehicle leaving the scooter behind. The windscreen was smashed in and the driver of the scooter was unconscious. There was growing confusion amongst the onlookers, not knowing what to do.

We pulled straight in to the right shoulder of the road to take control of the situation until EMS arrived. All our vehicles carry Emergency First Aid packs so barrier gloves were immediately put on and due to the high volume of blood lost by the driver (who was unconscious but breathing) direct pressure and support to his head wound and shoulder was the immediate action. The passenger of the scooter was also treated and her leg was bandaged and the bleeding was slowed dramatically.

After 20 minutes the EMS arrived. The Emergency Responders retrieved the stretcher from the ambulance lifted the casualty into the ambulance and they were finally away after 30 minutes.

Without the response instilled by the EFR course and the staff’s day to day training (Stop, Think, Assess, React) this could and would have been a very sad ending.

Well done to all the staff at Alpha Divers! It’s Responders in Action like these who prove that EFR training really does make a difference.

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