Sunday, May 15, 2011

Understanding Paediatric First Aid


Paediatric first aid refers to medical attention given to infants and young children. Anyone who is officially in charge of other people's children usually needs to go through a course on paediatric first aid to be able to deal with any emergencies that may arise. This can include teachers, registered childminders and nannies.

The National Childminding Association states that

"All childminders in England and Wales must hold a valid paediatric first-aid certificate when they register. In England, the first-aid course must be recognised by Ofsted and the childminder's local authority. The first-aid certificate should be updated on a regular basis - every three years or so, in accordance with the issuing body."

The UK government stated in their publication of 1998, Guidance on First Aid for Schools, that "first-aid provision must be available at all times while people are on school premises." In the case of pre-school and primary school attendance, this can mean paediatric first aid, which broadly speaking means children up to the age of about eight years old.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework and the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) both require paediatric first aid training in all nurseries, early years providers and primary schools. Accredited centres throughout the country can provide the necessary training, which can be towards an NVQ certificate in Childcare and Education.

Paediatric first aid is likely to be used for a wide variety of incidents. These include things like treatment of an unconscious casualty, resuscitation, head injury, diabetes, wasp and bee stings, sprains and strains, various bodily injuries, both minor and serious, nose bleeds, asthma attacks, choking, seizures, burns, foreign objects swallowed, illness, eye injury, shock and poisoning. There are many more possible situations where paediatric first aid may be required in a child-minding situation, and those who look after children need to be fully trained to cope with whatever happens.

Conclusion
Being responsible for other people's children means being ready for any and every eventuality. Children are perhaps the most unpredictable members of the entire human race, and they seem to get into trouble very easily, which often results in injury of some kind or another. Luckily, most incidents are usually minor and not life-threatening, but they can be extremely stressful and painful for the child concerned. Those trained in paediatric first aid are ideally placed to deal with such situations. In fact, everyone who has to look after children should be fully trained in this way.

      By Ian Martyn

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6159601



Thank you for reading this article :)

No comments:

Post a Comment