How would you cope in a crisis? The idea of using life saving skills to help a friend, family member or anyone in need might seem a bit daunting at first. But with the launch of the British Red Cross’ Life. Live it. campaign, you could soon be using simple, easy to learn steps to come to someone’s aid during an emergency.

Understanding the basics

We’re sure most of you will have heard of first aid before. You might even have learned some at school or with your family. Learning skills which could range from putting on a bandage, to helping someone during an epileptic fit is something anybody can do. Once you’ve got the basics, though, they also mean that you can make a difference to anyone in the world who needs your help.

Why do I need to learn it?

Think about all those times when you’ve been with someone who’s hurt themselves or had a medical emergency. It might be grazed knees in the playground, an asthma attack on school sports day or even a cut from a knife in the kitchen.

The point is, who knows when you might encounter an injury? And, more importantly, who knows who will be around to help?

Molly’s story

Someone who knows just how essential it is to be able to act in a crisis is Molly Crabtree, 12, who used her skills this summer to save a life. Molly was walking home with her friends when, suddenly, they saw a man struggling to breathe. The man was struggling so much that he collapsed, and Molly’s two friends didn’t know what to do. “Luckily I knew some simple life saving skills,” Molly says, “and I used these to make sure the man was still breathing.” So Molly…

-Checked if he was breathing, by tilting his head back, and listening for sounds of breathing , feeling for breath on her cheek and looking to see if his chest was rising and falling.

-Once she’d confirmed he was breathing, then Molly put him onto his side with his head tilted back to help keep him breathing.

-Meanwhile, her friends called 999 and asked for an ambulance

-Then Molly and her friends stayed with the man until help arrived.

These actions were vital and it’s likely Molly helped save the man’s life by acting as quickly as she did.

Skills for life

Life is so unpredictable, you need to be prepared. A crisis can appear when you’re least expecting it! Learning these skills is not as difficult as you might think, with some of the key skills things such as remaining calm, reassuring people and knowing how to dial 999 in an emergency.

Taking the time to learn these skills now will equip you with vital knowledge to react quickly and effectively in a crisis, whenever it might occur.

Anyone can learn basic life saving skills. You don’t have to take a course or sit through lengthy classes at school. The Life. Live it. campaign from the British Red Cross is helping all 11 to 16-year-olds to learn simple life saving skills. For more information visit www.redcross.org.uk/lifeliveitnow.

Taking it step by step

You can equip yourself with life saving skills by learning simple, memorable steps like these below. In this example, we look at how to treat a burn or scald. These often occur when you come into contact with a flame or hot surface, or if someone spills a hot drink.

1 Place the infected area under cold running water for at least ten minutes. This reduces the pain, stops the burn from causing further damage and helps reduce scarring.

2 Once the area has cooled, cover with cling film or a clean plastic bag to protect the affected area.

3 If the burn is severe, or if you’re in doubt about how serious the burn is, call 999 and arrange for the person to be taken to hospital.