A debate is due to take place in Parliament today about making it compulsory for all nursery staff to be first aid trained.
It follows a year long campaign by Joanna and Dan Thompson, whose nine-month-old daughter choked to death while being cared for at a nursery in 2012.
Their local MP Mark Hunter will lead a debate on changing the law to ensure every nursery worker is trained in paediatric first-aid.
Mr Hunter said: “Most parents when they put their child into a nursery would probably expect that all staff would be adequately trained in things like paediatric first aid care”.
He added: “That’s not actually the case as the law stands at the moment and I think that would come as an unpleasant surprise to an awful lot of people”.
The law currently states that at least one person who has an up-to-date paediatric first aid certificate must be on the nursery premises and available at all times when children are present.
They must also be on hand to accompany children on outings.
But is it just nursery staff who should be first aid trained or should parents learn basic first aid skills?
For many of us our first aid knowledge is quite vague.
From head injuries to broken bones and choking, knowing the right way to deal with a situation could help you save your child’s life or the life of someone else.
First aid is an important life skill that helps reduce fatalities and enables the faster treatment of injuries.
Here are 3 steps when it comes to dealing with choking:
Step 1
Give up to five back blows. Hold the baby face down along your forearm with their head lower than their bottom. Hit them firmly on their back between the shoulder blades. If back blows do not dislodge the object, move on to step two. The back blows create a strong vibration and pressure in the airway, which is often enough to dislodge the blockage. Dislodging the object will allow them to breathe again. Ensure you support their head while you hold them in the position described above.
Step 2
Give up to five chest thrusts. Turn the baby over so they are facing upwards and place two fingers in the middle of their chest just below the nipples. Push inwards and upwards up to five times. If chest thrusts do not dislodge the object, repeat steps one and two. Chest thrusts squeeze the air out of the baby’s lungs and may dislodge the blockage.
Step 3
Call 999 if the object has not dislodged after three cycles of back blows and chest thrusts.
