DRSABCD: the first aid action plan explained

DRSABCD: the first aid action plan explained

DRSABCD is the sequence taught in every Australian first aid course. It exists because under pressure people skip steps — most often the first one. Working through the letters in order keeps you safe and gets help moving early.

In an emergency, call 000. This guide explains the plan; it is not a substitute for hands-on training with a qualified trainer.

D — Danger

Check for danger to yourself, to bystanders, and then to the casualty, in that order. Traffic, live electricity, fire, gas, an unstable structure, an aggressive animal. A second casualty helps nobody. If you cannot make the scene safe, stay back and wait for emergency services.

R — Response

Talk and touch. Say their name loudly, ask them to squeeze your hand, squeeze their shoulders. A casualty who responds is breathing — move to managing whatever is wrong. A casualty who does not respond moves you straight to the next step.

S — Send for help

Call 000, or have someone else call while you continue. Ask for an ambulance and give the address clearly. If you are alone with a phone, put it on speaker and keep working — do not leave the casualty to find a better signal unless you have no choice.

If you send someone else, pick one person, say “you, call 000, then come back and tell me what they said”. Instructions aimed at a crowd get ignored.

A — Airway

Open the mouth and look. Clear anything obvious by rolling the casualty onto their side and letting it drain. Then open the airway by tilting the head back gently and lifting the chin. For an infant, the head stays in a neutral position rather than tilted.

B — Breathing

Look for chest movement, listen, feel for air. Take about ten seconds. Occasional gasping is not normal breathing — it is a sign of cardiac arrest and it misleads people constantly. If breathing is normal, place them on their side and monitor. If it is not, start CPR.

C — CPR

Thirty compressions, then two breaths, repeated. Compress in the centre of the chest, about one third of the chest depth, at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute. Let the chest come all the way back up between compressions. If you are unwilling or unable to give breaths, continuous compressions are far better than doing nothing.

Keep going until the casualty responds or starts breathing normally, until a defibrillator is ready to analyse, or until a paramedic takes over.

D — Defibrillation

Attach an AED as soon as one arrives and follow its voice prompts. Modern defibrillators are designed to be used by people with no training and will not deliver a shock unless one is needed. Minimise the pause in compressions while pads go on.

Why the order matters

Each letter protects the one after it. Checking danger protects you so you can reach the casualty. Sending for help early means paramedics are travelling while you work. Opening the airway makes the breathing check meaningful. Skipping ahead is the most common error we see in class on day one — and the main thing practice fixes.