Youth put first-aid skills to the test in Carinthia competition

More than 100 young people from Carinthia and international guest groups demonstrated their first-aid skills at the Youth Red Cross state competition in Hermagor, ORF reported. Realistically staged emergencies were set up in the town centre, testing participants from recognising injuries to providing the correct treatment.

Participants had little time to think before putting on gloves, assessing the situation and dividing up tasks. “We prepared very well as a group. I was very nervous, but that has actually gone now,” said 12-year-old Liliana Thurner.

Although the injuries were made up, organisers aimed to make the scenarios as realistic as possible. “The make-up and the way everything is set up, like in the real world, help me become more confident,” said 11-year-old Dominik Friederich.

Alongside the correct procedures, communication and teamwork were key. Youth group leader Julia Wandaller said teams developed throughout the year as participants got to know each other and learned each other’s strengths.

This year’s competition also featured a female CPR mannequin for the first time. A US study cited by ORF found that bystanders perform CPR on 45 percent of men suffering cardiac arrest in public places, compared with 39 percent of women. Fear of physical contact and uncertainty about exposing a woman’s chest are considered possible reasons for the difference.

“It is about the embarrassment of touching a woman in the chest area. That is why I think it is great that they have a female mannequin,” Wandaller said. Regardless of whether the person needing help is a woman or a man, the decisive factor in an emergency is to begin first aid without hesitation.