First Aid

Most first aid is not dramatic. It is noticing that someone has collapsed, making the area safe, and staying with them until help arrives. The 999 handler can talk you through the next step. That is first aid too.

This page is a written guide for people in the United Kingdom. It is not a first aid course, an app, or an accredited qualification. World Aid Network does not train first aiders. For a course or workshop, use the British Red Cross, St John Ambulance or another recognised trainer.

Trainers often teach this as DRSABC: Danger, Response, Send for help, Airway, Breathing, CPR. The order matters. You cannot help if you become a second casualty. If the scene is not safe, stay back and call 999.

Use speakerphone so you can keep your hands free. The handler will ask where you are. Give a road name, a postcode, a shop, or a landmark. If you are not sure, they can often locate a mobile call.

NHS 111 can tell you whether you need 999, A&E, a same-day GP slot, or self-care. For a child under five, call 111 if you need advice and it is not obviously life-threatening.

Stay on the line. Call again if the person’s condition changes or if you have to move. Lock pets away if you can. Collect medicines and GP details if it is safe to do so. Turn lights on so the crew can find you.

Sit or lie the person down if you can. Raise the injured part only if it does not cause more pain and there is no suspected break. Wear gloves if you have them. Wash your hands after.

Do not use a tourniquet unless you have been trained to do so. The 999 handler can tell you what to do next. Keep talking to the person so you know if they become drowsy or unresponsive.

Cooling takes the heat out of the skin and reduces damage. Twenty minutes is longer than most people think. Use cool tap water, not ice, which can freeze the tissue. Keep the rest of the person warm so they do not get cold while you cool the burn.

Chemical burns need the chemical removed first — brush off dry powder, then rinse. Electrical burns can hide deeper injury. Call 999. For a baby or a burn bigger than the person’s hand, get urgent medical help.

Do not put your fingers in their mouth to fish for the object. You can push it further down. Stand slightly to the side for back blows. For abdominal thrusts, stand behind, make a fist above the navel, and pull inwards and upwards.

Babies are different. Do not give abdominal thrusts to an infant. Call 999. The handler will talk you through back blows and chest thrusts with the baby face down, then face up, along your forearm. If they become unresponsive, start CPR for a baby as the handler directs.

Kneel beside them. Place the heel of one hand on the centre of the chest, the other hand on top, and interlock the fingers. Keep your arms straight. Let the chest come back up between compressions. Continue until help takes over, they start breathing normally, or you are too exhausted to go on.

Send someone for a public defibrillator (AED). Switch it on and follow the voice prompts. Do not stop compressions for longer than you must. The 999 handler can count with you. For children and babies the technique changes — stay on the line and they will talk you through it.

Kneel beside them. Place the arm nearest you at a right angle. Bring the far arm across the chest and hold the back of that hand against the cheek. Bend the far knee, then roll them towards you. Tilt the head to keep the airway open.

If they stop breathing normally, roll them onto their back and start CPR. Tell the 999 handler what you have done.

You can give useful first aid with almost nothing: your hands for pressure, a clean t-shirt as a pad, a phone on speaker. A kit just makes that easier. Store it where everyone in the house can find it, not locked in a shed.

World Aid Network does not sell first aid kits. After a disaster overseas, local partners may buy dressings, soap and clean water for families who have lost their homes. That sits on our emergency relief pages. It is not this guide, and it is not a UK first aid kit posted from Britain.

A short written guide helps you remember the order: danger, response, 999, airway, breathing, CPR. It will not make you an accredited first aider. If you want a certificate for work, you need a paid, assessed course.

British Red Cross first aid: https://www.redcross.org.uk/first-aid. St John Ambulance: https://www.sja.org.uk. NHS 999 and 111 remain the right numbers in an emergency, whether or not you have trained.

Both jobs matter. One organisation trains millions of people and sells kits. We publish this guide so someone searching for First Aid can see the first steps in British English, then we send them to 999, NHS 111, and a proper trainer. We do not pretend to be the Red Cross.

We will not guess at timings you should only learn with an instructor standing over a manikin. If the 999 handler’s instructions differ from this page, follow the handler. They can see the incident in real time. We cannot.

If you searched for First Aid because someone in front of you needs help, stay on this page and call 999 if life is at risk. If you searched because you want to fund disaster relief overseas, open emergency relief or a named appeal. Those are different jobs.