No one can really be sure when tragedy would strike. This is the reason why one of the things that first aiders and responders are taught is being ready at all times. Unfortunately, those who do not have training on how to save a life during emergency situations might not have the proper mindset when it comes to dealing with the situation as well as the patient. This is where the skill of a dispatcher would play an important role.
Generally, a dispatcher is the person who receives emergency calls. They are also responsible for ensuring that the nearest responder would be sent out to the victim. In most cases, they stay on the line with the caller to ensure that the responders are able to reach the latter on time.
In most cases, a bystander’s initial reaction when faced with a medical emergency is to get in touch with the paramedics via the dispatcher. Depending on where the victim is located, the paramedics typically get to the scene between 2 to 5 minutes. Although this might just seem like a few minutes of waiting, for a person suffering from cardiac arrest, this could actually spell the difference between life and death. Having said that, clearly, it would now depend on the dispatcher how the situation is resolved and where the case would be leading to.
CPR, or Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation, is a process carried out in cardiac arrest victims in order to ensure that oxygen reaches tissues in time. By starting an artificial blood circulation, tissue necrosis is prevented and major organs are kept functioning.
In most cases, it is recommended that the dispatcher guide the bystander on what to do while the latter is waiting for the paramedics to arrive. Although many might be concerned about the probability of the bystander doing more harm to the patient than good, studies have shown that, with the dispatcher giving the bystander clear instructions on what to do, the rate of a cardiac arrest victim’s survival increases favorably. On the downside, however, there is also the risk that, if the patient is not really suffering from cardiac arrest, there could be instances of fracture. Medical professionals, however, believe that the probabilities are still in favor of dispatcher-assisted bystander CPR. How is this is? Based on studies, of the 46% cases of CPR in non-cardiac arrest victims, only 11% suffered from discomfort brought about by the CPR with 9% experiencing soreness and tenderness of the chest area. What’s more, only 2% of the 46% of cases actually suffered from fractures brought about by a dispatcher-assisted bystander.
Medical professionals still encourage dispatchers to make sure that they advice the bystander to administer CPR as soon as they are sure that the patient is unresponsive and unconscious. Any minute taken away from the life-saving procedure actually increases the chances of the victim not making it through. In line with this, the only recommendation that medical professionals make is that the dispatchers would have to be direct to the point when giving out the instructions.
Get to know more about proper CPR by undergoing a CPR training and certification with Citywide CPR.
