Increasing Road Trauma in Australia Highlights Urgency for First Aid Preparedness

Car Crash Traumas highlight the need for First Aid preparedness

Despite the implementation of the National Road Safety Strategy ‘Vision Zero and the Safe System,’ the specter of road trauma looms larger on Australian roads.

BRISBANE, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA, April 8, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — Despite the implementation of the National Road Safety Strategy ‘Vision Zero and the Safe System,’ the specter of road trauma looms larger on Australian roads. Disturbingly, 2023 marked a 7.3% surge in road fatalities compared to the previous year, with the 12-month period ending February 29, 2024, showing no signs of improvement as road toll fatalities persistently escalate.

Adding gravity to these sobering statistics, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reports that transport accidents contributed to a staggering 61,500 hospitalizations in 2021-22.

Mal Thompson, Managing Director of My First Aid Course, reflects on the broader implications: “While the fatality data is truly devastating, it’s crucial to recognize the significant impact of non-fatal injuries resulting from road accidents. Any road user could find themselves in a situation where they must provide first aid to a casualty with serious, life-threatening injuries.”

Thompson’s sentiments are echoed by senior trauma surgeons nationwide. Dr. Kate Martin, trauma surgeon at Royal Melbourne Hospital, emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the multitude of individuals who survive road accidents but endure life-altering injuries. Dr. Matthew Hope, Trauma Committee Chair at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, shares concerns about the distressing upward trend in deaths and serious injuries on Australian roads.

National data underscores the prevalence of head and neck, trunk, and limb injuries in transport accidents. Recent reports of car, motorcycle, and truck accidents bear witness to casualties sustaining debilitating injuries to the brain, spinal cord, internal organs, and limbs. Thompson emphasizes the critical need for prompt, high-quality intervention from first responders in such scenarios.

Thompson urges all road users to consider the value of first aid training in potentially life-saving interventions: “Proficient first aid skills can make a significant difference when attending to someone seriously injured in a road accident.”

For further information on first aid training courses provided by My First Aid Course or to make a booking, please visit their website.

Malcolm Thompson
My First Aid Course Pty Ltd
414 630 808‬
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube

My First Aid