Aims of First Aid

Aims of First Aid

The key aims of first aid can be summarised in three key points:

• Preserve life – the overriding aim of all medical care, including first aid, is to save lives
• Prevent further harm – also sometimes called prevent the condition from worsening, this covers both external factors, such as moving a patient away from any cause of harm, and applying first aid techniques to prevent worsening of the condition, such as applying pressure to stop a bleed becoming dangerous.

Promote recovery – first aid also involves trying to start the recovery process from the illness or injury, and in some cases might involve completing a treatment, such as in the case of applying a plaster to a small wound