Guidelines on what to do in a drowning emergency

In the case of a drowning accident, Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) Spokesperson William Ntladi says people can follow these guidelines to try and ensure that the victim survives the accident.

Calling emergency services is very important.

These are the guidelines that should be followed when speaking to an operator:

n State your name and surname.

n State your contact numbers.

n State the reason why you need emergency services (what is wrong with the patient)

n Try and be calm to convey the message clear to the operator.

n Try and give as much information as possible to assist the operator to be able to send the relevant resources.

n State the correct address and location of the emergency incident.

n At the end of the call, wait for the operator to close the call.

n Never refuse to give your details and that of the emergency incident, as your call may be regarded as a “false call”.

If the person has stopped breathing or no heartbeat is detected, Ntladi advises that Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) should be conducted on the patient until paramedics arrive.

Before you conduct CPR here are some guidelines to follow:

n Personal safety is priority so you don’t put yourself in danger while saving the patient, if you can’t swim, don’t try to rescue a victim from water.

n If the patient is bleeding profusely, control it by pressing a sterile cloth or bandage firmly on the wound.

n Check for the pulse by gently placing two fingers on the inside of the patient’s wrist below the thumb, if there is no pulse, start with the chest compression.

n Check for any foreign objects in the mouth and remove if any.

n Open airway by tilting the patients head and lift the chin.

Seven steps on how to administer CPR:

n Place the patient on their back, making sure that they are lying as flat as possible.

n Place the heel of one hand on the patient’s breastbone, two finger widths above the meeting area of the lower ribs, exactly between the nipples.

n Place your second hand on top of the first hand, palms down, interlock the fingers of the second hand between the first.

n Position your body directly over your hand, so that arms are straight and somewhat rigid.

n Repeat compression and ventilation and re-check every two minutes if signs of life have returned.

n Check for breathing, if none, resume with mouth-to-mouth/ mouth-barrier-mouth-ventilation

n Continue till professional help arrives.

In a emergency situation you can call the national toll free number on 10177, Life Threatening Ekurhuleni Emergency Line on 011 458 0911 or dial 112 (toll free) from a cellphone.