To all the residents of Randfontein, my name is Denver, and I have been a paramedic for 10 years.
On 25 June 2015, I was blessed with a beautiful baby boy. This being our first child, my wife and I were very excited. We could not believe how amazing it felt to be parents. One day, while my son had his lunchtime feed, he began coughing. Being a paramedic, I knew that it was not too serious and turned him over and let the milk run out passively.
This was when I became worried. My wife who has no training in first aid asked a very serious question… what should she do if this happens when I am not home?
It worried me on many levels:
1) We have been together for many years and she has a keen interest in my work, but even after many discussions of what we do and how to do it, she still didn’t understand the steps to take in an emergency.
2) As a mother, her instinct is to help her child, but if she did not know how (like many parents) then what should she do? How can she be expected to know how to help when she has never received any training?
3) Lastly, who should she call for help? She has the advantage of knowing my number, but what about those who don’t have a number saved for emergencies? What should they do?
This led me to sending this letter to give readers some assistance in emergency situations. The plan is to provide an ongoing assistance on a regular basis to familiarise people with emergencies and what to do. The aim of this will not be to replace any formal training but rather to give the ordinary person some insight into how to get help and how to provide help without causing more harm.
The most important thing to know is who is in your area and what their numbers are. Save important numbers on your cellphone and post it next to landline devices.
Make sure everyone in your house does this so that they will have the number, even when they are not home.
The main numbers to know are:
• Flying Squad: 10111
• Government ambulance: 10177
• Local private ambulance: 0812 777 777
• Randfontein Fire: 011 693 2235
• Randfontein SAPS: 011 767 2350
Also save the number of your security company on your phone so that you are not looking for it in an emergency. In the next letter I will start providing information on what you should do in case of medical emergencies after having called for an ambulance.
In the interim, should you wish to get first aid training, please email training@qrservices.co.za
