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First aid advice on hypothermia will be added to the Fire Services Department (FSD)'s existing post-dispatch advice for emergency ambulance services from January 1, 2013 (Tuesday).
During hypothermia emergencies callers will be advised to warm the patients as soon as possible and avoid rubbing the affected areas.
A spokesman for the FSD said today (December 28) that in order to enhance emergency ambulance services, the department has been providing post-dispatch advice for emergency ambulance calls for common injuries including bleeding, dislocation or fracture of limbs and burns since May 1, 2011. First aid advice on convulsions and heat exposure was added to post-dispatch advice on June 1 this year.
"The first aid advice is simple yet useful because callers, in an emergency situation, usually have no idea about how to offer help to the patients. If callers can stay calm and follow the instructions, the post-dispatch advice can provide patients with proper and immediate treatment prior to the arrival of the ambulance crew and reduce the chance of deterioration in the condition of the patients.
"In a telephone survey about post-dispatch advice for emergency ambulance services conducted by the FSD between May 2011 and November 2012, over 95 per cent of the respondents were satisfied with the advice. They supported the FSD to continue to provide the advice," he said.
The spokesman stressed that callers may decide whether or not to accept and follow the advice on their own. It works on a voluntary basis.
"If the Fire Services Communications Centre (FSCC) personnel have doubts about the ability of the caller in understanding and following the advice, such as in the case of children, they would not proceed to offer the advice," he said.
He added that FSCC personnel would also provide callers with time-saving advice, such as bringing patients' medication and opening doors to wait for the emergency crew, so as to assist the work of the ambulance crew upon arrival.
Ends/Friday, December 28, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:01
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