An adult casualty isn't breathing normally. You should:

Start CPR at 30 compressions to 2 breaths, send for an AED

Catastrophic bleeding is treated by:

Direct pressure, wound packing, tourniquet as last resort for limbs

A risk assessment must:

Identify hazards, who's at risk, control measures and be reviewed

When manual handling a heavy item, the first thing to do is:

Stop and plan: route, weight, grip, help

Danger, Response, Airway, Breathing, Circulation — DR ABC is the primary survey sequence used by first responders worldwide.

An adult casualty isn't breathing normally. You should:

Start CPR at 30 compressions to 2 breaths, send for an AED — Start CPR immediately. Compressions are the priority — depth 5-6cm, rate 100-120/min, ratio 30:2.

Catastrophic bleeding is treated by:

Direct pressure, wound packing, tourniquet as last resort for limbs — Pressure first, pack the wound if it's a junctional area, tourniquet for catastrophic limb bleeds you can't otherwise stop.

Under HASAWA 1974, you (the employee) have a duty to:

Take reasonable care for your own safety and that of others affected by your acts — Section 7 places a duty on employees to take reasonable care for themselves and others, and to cooperate with the employer.

A risk assessment must:

Identify hazards, who's at risk, control measures and be reviewed — Suitable and sufficient risk assessment: hazard → who's at risk → controls → review (especially after an incident).

When manual handling a heavy item, the first thing to do is:

Stop and plan: route, weight, grip, help — Plan first: TILE (Task, Individual, Load, Environment). The lift itself is the easy bit when the plan is right.

Mental health first aid awareness

Pillar: HNS · Day 85 · 20–30 min deep read · Updated 1970

This lesson is part of the open Guard.Academy library. All content is free to read. Bookmark it, share it with a colleague, and come back to the drills the next time you're on shift.

Opening Health and safety is the legal backbone of the trade — and the difference between a near miss and a funeral is often a single trained operator in the first three minutes.

Why this matters Health and safety isn't a side topic — it's the legal backbone of working in security. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places duties on both your employer and you. As a guard you are often the first person on scene for slips, trips, fires and medical emergencies, and your basic first-aid actions in the first three minutes can save a life.

A short history UK occupational H&S law is built on the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 — still the cornerstone fifty years on. Subsequent regulations layered specific duties: Management of H&S Regulations 1999, Manual Handling Regulations 1992, RIDDOR 1995/2013, and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Recent decades have added catastrophic-bleed training, AED roll-outs, and mental-health first aid as standard expectations for frontline operatives.

International context Resuscitation Council UK, AHA (US), ERC (Europe) and ANZCOR (Australia/NZ) align on adult CPR ratios and AED use. Catastrophic bleed control (TCCC/T3) originated in military medicine and is now civilian standard.

By the numbers - Slips, trips and falls are the single biggest source of non-fatal workplace injury — and a common patrol risk. - CPR with an AED within 3-5 minutes can raise cardiac-arrest survival rates from under 10% to 50%+. - Catastrophic limb bleeds can be fatal within 3 minutes — tourniquets reduce that to a survivable timeline. - Near-miss reporting predicts the next serious accident — sites with high near-miss rates have lower serious-injury rates.

Numbers to know by heart - 30:2 — adult CPR ratio. - 5–6cm — adult compression depth. - 100–120 — compressions per minute. - 3 minutes — typical time-to-death for a catastrophic limb bleed without intervention.

The framework Use DR ABC for primary survey: Danger, Response, Airway, Breathing, Circulation.

Deep dive Section 7 of HASAWA places a duty on you as an employee: take reasonable care for your own safety and that of others affected by your acts. Section 8 prohibits interfering with safety equipment. Combined with your employer's s.2 duty, this creates a shared responsibility model. Risk assessment is the operational expression of that duty: identify hazards, identify who's at risk, identify control measures, and review — especially after any incident or near-miss. DR ABC is the primary survey; CPR, AED use, catastrophic-bleed control and recovery position are the four life-saving actions every operative should know cold.

On shift — step by step 1. Make the scene safe before you approach (your safety first, always). 2. Check responsiveness with a shout and a tap. 3. Open the airway with a head-tilt, chin-lift. 4. Look-listen-feel for normal breathing (no more than 10 seconds). 5. If not breathing normally, start CPR and shout for an AED.

Real-world scenario A guard on a retail patrol slips on an unmarked spill, hits his elbow, and reports the near-miss. The store fixes the cleaning rota, posts wet-floor signage in the right places, and updates the risk assessment. A small report stopped a serious accident.

Scenario walk-through — Catastrophic bleed in a venue Direct pressure. Wound packing. Tourniquet for limb bleeds you can't otherwise stop. Time the tourniquet and hand over the time to ambulance.

Another scenario — Mental health crisis Stay calm, listen, give space, signal for help via radio. Don't restrain unless there's an immediate physical danger. Hand over to specialists.

One more — Manual handling a heavy delivery Stop. Plan. TILE — Task, Individual, Load, Environment. Lift only after the plan.

Case study — AED save at the arena Two-minute response with AED at a 20,000-capacity venue restored sinus rhythm before paramedics arrived. The casualty walked out of hospital five days later.

Case study — Cleaner spill, no signage A guard slipped on an unmarked spill, reported the near-miss honestly, and the store fixed cleaning rotas and signage placement. No serious accident followed — but it would have if the report hadn't been made.

Myths vs reality Myth: PPE is optional if it looks bad. Reality: PPE is your employer's legal duty and your right. Wear it.

Myth: Near misses don't need reporting. Reality: Near misses predict the next serious accident. They're the most valuable report you'll write.

Drills you can run before your next shift 1. Walk your site and locate every AED. Time yourself to each from your nearest patrol point. 2. Practise DR ABC out loud until it's automatic. 3. Review your last near-miss report. If you don't have one — that's the finding.

Weekly habits - Locate every AED on your patch weekly. - Run a one-minute DR ABC drill in your head before each shift. - Check your manual handling plan before lifting anything heavy. - Review one near-miss report per week — yours or your team's.

Red flags — what to avoid - 'Might make it worse' as a reason to do nothing. - Failing to report near misses. - Skipping PPE because it 'looks unprofessional'. - Manual handling without planning.

Green flags — what good looks like - Regular near-miss reporting. - Up-to-date risk assessments after incidents. - Visible PPE compliance across the team. - Confident, regular CPR/AED practice.

Pre-shift checklist - [ ] Scene safe. - [ ] DR ABC. - [ ] Send for AED. - [ ] CPR if needed. - [ ] Catastrophic bleed control. - [ ] Recovery position when stable.

Common pitfalls - Doing nothing because you 'might make it worse' — basic first aid is almost always better than nothing. - Failing to report near misses — they predict the next real accident. - Skipping PPE because it 'looks unprofessional'. - Manual handling without thinking through the lift first.

Frequently asked questions Q. Who pays for PPE? Your employer — by law. Free of charge.

Q. What is RIDDOR? The reporting regulations for specified workplace injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences. Your employer reports — you provide the facts.

Q. Can I refuse to do something unsafe? Yes — and you should. HASAWA protects you. Document the refusal and the reason.

How this compares elsewhere First-aid skills for security operatives sit between basic public first aid and the FREC/EMT scope of professional medics. Know your level and know when to hand over.

Notes for supervisors and team leaders Supervisors who require monthly CPR practice see real outcomes change. The skill decays fast — train against the decay.

The law behind it Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of H&S Regs 1999; Manual Handling Operations Regs 1992; Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Key terms - Risk assessment — Identify hazards → who's at risk → control measures → review. - Catastrophic bleed — Life-threatening bleeding — apply direct pressure, pack, tourniquet as a last resort. - AED — Automated External Defibrillator — safe for any trained operator to use.

Extended glossary - HASAWA — Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 — the cornerstone statute. - RIDDOR — Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. - TILE — Task, Individual, Load, Environment — the manual handling planner. - AED — Automated External Defibrillator — safe for any trained operator. - Primary survey — DR ABC — the first sequence on any casualty.

Exam-style tips - DR ABC and CPR ratios are exam staples — memorise. - 'Reasonable care' under s.7 HASAWA is a common multi-choice trap.

Reflection prompts - When did you last practise CPR for real (manikin counts)? - What's the nearest AED to where you're standing right now?

Today's reflection on this lesson Think back to the last shift where you saw "mental health first aid awareness" come up. What did you do? What would you change with today's framework in mind? Hold that in mind as you answer the questions below — it's the reflection that turns a lesson into a habit.

Closing thoughts You won't always be the one who saves a life. But you can always be the one who's ready to.

Reminder: Guard.Academy is **not** an accredited SIA qualification. It complements your training — it does not replace it. To obtain or renew an SIA licence you still need an approved course with an accredited provider.

Mental health first aid awareness