My name is Mark Wigley, a first aid, safeguarding and self-harm trainer and Director of Meducate Training Ltd.

I have always been a great believer in trying to keep things simple which is why when I first learned first aid (a long time ago now) I was excited at the simplicity of the Primary Survey.

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 When I teach first aid to students now, I focus heavily on drilling learners in the importance of doing the Primary Survey each time they deal with a medical emergency and getting them to practice it multiple times in class. It is one of the most powerful things you can learn on a first aid course.

When discussing with learners the same fears come up around dealing with a medical emergency.

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These are:

1.Getting it wrong and making the patient worse.

2.Not knowing what to do in an emergency and how they will react.

3.Being sued (I still can’t believe this one is still about!)

4.Getting hurt.

Let’s look at how the correct application of the Primary Survey in first aid can address all 4 of those fears.

When faced with an emergency of any kind our brain can quickly become over-whelmed with everything that is going on.

For us to deal with the situation effectively we need a simple yet powerful process we can use to deal with the emergency in front of us.

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With first aid this is the Primary Survey and the magic is that you can apply it to any medical emergency and it gives you a step by step process to follow each and every time that doesn't require loads of complex thinking and decision making (more difficult when your brain has gone into panic mode).

You just start at the beginning and move through each stage, stopping to deal with a problem, or moving on to the next stage if there are no concerns.

The more you use it and practice it the more of a habit it will become, which means it will become more of an automatic response that you don't have to think about.

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The Primary Survey provides you with a structured process which can be referred to if anyone questions what actions you took. (helps with No. 3)

It helps protect you from injury by prompting you to check for Danger (helps with No. 4)

 As you are required to do only one thing at a time (and not everything at once) it should help your brain calm down (stopping the chimp from screeching!) and make you more useful.

The Primary Survey shows you what to look for and when to look for it with clear instructions on what to do at each of the stages, minimising the chance of you getting something wrong. It is solely aimed at prompting you to check for and either identify and treat or exclude the most life threatening conditions first (helps deal with No.1 and No.2)

The Primary Survey also helps build your confidence because you know you have it available to you if you must give first aid (helps with No.2).

The Primary Survey in first aid does not demand perfection (a sure fire route to hesitation and procrastination) nor does it demand a vast wealth of knowledge and complex decision making.

 The Primary Survey only demands that you take one simple step at a time.