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PHECC FAR study materials
PHECC FAR study resources

PHECC FAR: First Aid Response: Primary Survey, Resuscitation and Emergency Care

PHECC FAR · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

First Aid Response: Primary Survey, Resuscitation and Emergency Care

First Aid Response (FAR) is the PHECC-recognised first aid level for people who may be first on scene before an ambulance arrives. The written paper tests scene safety, the primary survey, adult and paediatric CPR with AED use, choking, bleeding control, burns, and the medical emergencies a first aider must recognise and refer.

Assess before you act

Use DRABC: Danger (traffic, electricity, aggression, infection risk), Response (AVPU - Alert, Voice, Pain, Unresponsive), Airway (open, look for obstruction), Breathing (look, listen, feel for up to 10 seconds), Circulation (pulse, major bleeding, skin colour). Call 112/999 early and send someone for an AED.

Core rules

  • Adult CPR: 30 compressions to 2 breaths, 100–120/min, 5–6 cm deep, full chest recoil, minimal interruptions; rotate compressors every 2 minutes.
  • Paediatric CPR: 30:2 for a lone rescuer, 15:2 with two rescuers; compress about one-third of chest depth.
  • AED: apply as soon as it arrives without stopping compressions; dry the chest, remove medication patches, keep pads 8 cm clear of an implanted device, follow voice prompts.
  • Choking: adult or child over 1 year - 5 back blows then 5 abdominal thrusts. Infant under 1 year - 5 back blows then 5 chest thrusts, never abdominal thrusts.
  • Unresponsive but breathing normally: recovery position, monitor breathing.
  • Severe bleeding: direct pressure, pack the wound, tourniquet only for catastrophic limb bleeding if trained.
  • Burns: cool with running water for at least 20 minutes, remove jewellery, cover with cling film; no ice, butter or creams.
  • Chest pain: 300 mg aspirin chewed, if conscious, not allergic and no bleeding risk. Suspected stroke (FAST): no aspirin, rapid transfer.
  • Anaphylaxis: assist with the patient's own adrenaline auto-injector IM, repeat after 5 minutes if no improvement.

Worked example

A 58-year-old collapses in a supermarket. He is unresponsive and making occasional noisy gasps. You check danger, call 112, open the airway and see gasping that is not normal breathing. Reasoning: agonal gasps equal cardiac arrest, so you start compressions immediately at 30:2. The AED arrives at 3 minutes; you apply pads, deliver one shock and resume compressions at once without checking a pulse. You continue until the patient breathes normally, an advanced team takes over, or you are exhausted.

Traps that cost marks

Stopping compressions to look for a pulse; leaning on the chest; over-ventilating; treating gasps as normal breathing; giving aspirin in stroke; giving anything by mouth to an unconscious patient; blind finger sweeps; abdominal thrusts on an infant; failing to document times, observations and handover.