Essential first aid skills everyone should know for life-saving preparedness

AS WORLD First Aid Day was commemorated recently, it is a reminder that our most powerful safety tool isn’t tucked away in a policy document or an app, but in our own hands.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

In an emergency, the first few minutes matter most. A calm, competent response can be the difference between life and death.

Yet in SA, many of us are unprepared. Research shows that only about 20% of South Africans have CPR training (Resuscitation Council of Southern Africa). Considering that heart disease is on the rise across the continent and with it, cases of sudden cardiac arrest outside of hospitals, this lack of readiness could cost lives.

Globally, nearly 500 000 cardiac arrests occur every year. Without cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR, survival is slim. With it, survival rates double or even triple. That means ordinary people, not just doctors and paramedics, hold the key to saving lives.