[GALLERY + VIDEOS]: Head injury awareness at Harvest School
With World Head Injury Awareness Day falling on March 20, Mulbarton Hospital and Netcare 911 visited Harvest Christian School to teach on helmet safety and hand hygiene.
MULBARTON Hospital and Netcare 911 held cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) demonstrations at Harvest Christian School on Wednesday, March 28.
Nurses Glenda Bateman, Preschilla Yerriah, Thandi Ndwandwe and Azrah Kadwa together with paramedics Nielen van der Merwe, Irshaad Kara and Ashley Janeson spoke about head injury prevention on bicycles, roller skates and skateboards, and demonstrated how to correctly wear helmets.
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They also spoke on hand hygiene.
With World Head Injury Awareness Day falling on March 20, the National Institute for Occupational Health gave us some background on the event.
World Head Injury Awareness Day focuses on people who have suffered anything from a mild bump on their heads to a severe brain injury. The purpose of this day is to remind us how we could reduce accidents and brain injuries if we are mindful.
It advocates the correct usage of safety devices such as helmets and seatbelts, which can prevent damage to the head when one is involved in an accident.
Globally, every year more than five per cent of people get serious brain injury after an accident or as a result of accidentally bumping their heads.
So, this day is set to educate and make the world aware of how a minor injury to the brain can affect the quality of your life.
The Mulbarton nurses and Netcare paramedics started off the demonstration by showing learners what can happen if they do not wear helmets.
They used eggs to mimic what can happen to a child’s head in an accident.
The three most common causes of head injury are motor vehicle-related, bicycle-related, vehicle-pedestrian accidents (50 per cent), falls (25 per cent), and violence (20 per cent).
They also taught the learners Netcare’s 082911 emergency number.
The nurses then acted out a heart attack scenario to show the learners what to do in the event of an incident at home.
The paramedics then showed them how to perform CPR should the person stop breathing and the ambulance is still on its way.
Many learners got the opportunity to practice CPR on a dummy.
Learners were given several types of hats and wigs to wear instead of helmets to identify which ones are unsafe and should not be worn on the road.
The nurses then gave them all hand santiser and taught the primary school learners how to correctly wash their hands.
Following the demonstrations, the learners were taken outside and got the chance to walk through an ambulance to see what it looks like.
They were all given Easter eggs and balloons and then got to see the ambulance drive off with the siren on.
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Here are some recommendations to prevent head injury:
• Always wear a seatbelt when in a motor vehicle.
• Use an appropriate child safety seat.
• Never drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Always wear a helmet when on a bicycle, motorcycle or scooter.
• Use the handrails on stairways.
• Provide adequate lighting on stairs for people with poor vision.
• Do not place obstacles on pathways.
• Provide the correct safety equipment for workers.
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