What Are The Seven Steps In First Aid?

By taking a first aid course with Holmes Safety Training you will learn 7 simple first aid steps to help give initial care to a sick or injured casualty at an emergency scene.

1) Perform a Scene Survey

Ensure the emergency scene is safe to approach by looking for hazards and finding out the number of casualties and the mechanism of injury.

When performing a first aid primary site survey, you should look for potential hazards such as:

Physical hazards: These include live electrical currents, broken glass, debris, unsafe structures, fire, smoke, roadways, waterways, gas, guns, and knives

Biological hazards: These include infected or potentially infected body fluids

2) Call for help

If possible have a bystander call 911 grab a first aid kit and AED. This step can be done at any stage if hazards or life-threatening injuries are found. It’s best to assign this task to a specific person rather than a general call for help to a group of bystanders who could all assume someone else has taken this on.

3) Get Consent

If they’re conscious It’s important to let the injured person know why you’re approaching and what your intentions are. Try asking "My name is ...... can I help you? I know first aid"

4) Check Responsiveness

A responsive casualty will respond to speech and pain. For a responsive casualty the first aider should find out what happened, where the casualty is hurt and if they have a medical history.

If the casualty is unresponsive the first aider should immediately call for help and continue with the primary survey.

5) Perform a Primary Survey

By checking the casualty ABC the first aid aider can determine what first aid to give and if needed perform CPR and apply an AED.

Casualty ABC

A. Airway - Ensure the airway is clear and unobstructed so the person can breathe. This can be done using a head-tilt chin-lift or jaw thrust maneuver.

B. Breathing - Check if the person is breathing normally and provide rescue breaths if they are not.

C.  Circulation - Ensure blood is circulating effectively, which includes checking for a pulse and controlling severe bleeding. This can be done by performing chest compressions. 

6) Perform a Secondary Survey

The first aider obtains the history of the casualty, assesses and records the vital signs, performs a head-to-toe examination, and records first aid and medication given.

7) Give Ongoing Casualty Care

Treat casualty for shock and monitor casualty's condition until medical help arrives.

Now that you've learned the seven steps of first aid, how confident are you in applying them in a real emergency? Don’t leave it to chance—get certified and ensure you’re ready. Share your thoughts or experiences in the comments below, and if you want to take your preparedness to the next level, explore our WSIB-certified first aid courses.

Get Certified Today

With three locations to choose from and professional, engaging instructors, Holmes Safety Training has the first aid courses you can trust.