How to respond effectively during an emergency - MASA Assist

With MASA Assist coverage, you know you’ll have access to the off-island medical emergency transportation you need when you need it, but what can you do on your own to respond to an emergency before help arrives? Here’s a guide to help you prepare for any medical emergency situation.

Whether it’s a cardiac arrest, severe bleeding, or another critical event, knowing how to handle intense emergency situations will increase your confidence to deal with them. Your first step should always be to call emergency services. Provide your location, answer any questions the dispatcher has about the emergency situation, and remember to stay on the line. If you eventually need a greater level of care, your MASA coverage means that we’ll be there to step in and get you to an appropriate healthcare facility. Once care is on the way:

Assess the situation

Remain calm and check your surroundings.

If you are experiencing the emergency: Ensure that you are safe from any further harm. Check for nearby hazards and move away if you can. Assess yourself for symptoms you can report to emergency responders when they arrive.

If you are supporting a victim: Are they safe from any nearby hazards or further harm? Then, evaluate their condition. Check for signs of excessive bleeding, loss of consciousness, difficulty breathing, and other life-threatening conditions.

Administer first aid

If you are experiencing the emergency: Immobilize any injured area you have and elevate it, if you are experiencing bleeding. Otherwise, keep your body as still as possible. Try to control your breathing and focus on remaining calm.

If you are supporting a victim: If you are trained in first aid or CPR, begin immediately. If not, follow the dispatcher’s instructions until help arrives. While waiting for emergency services, you can also monitor vital signs like breathing and pulse.

Stay with the victim

If you are supporting a victim: Don’t leave the person alone, especially if their condition is unstable. Try to keep them calm and reassure them while waiting for emergency services to arrive.

Strategies for common situations

Here are a couple of common emergency situations that you may encounter and some strategies you can use to while waiting for professional help to arrive.

Chest pain

Chest pain could indicate a heart attack or other life-threatening emergency that requires immediate action. If not treated, there’s an increased likelihood of sudden death or heart failure.

The symptoms you should look for include chest pain, sweating, palpitations, nausea, and shortness of breath.

What you can do:

• Call emergency services immediately.
• Start CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation), if you are trained. Continue CPR until emergency responders arrive or the person starts breathing.
• Use an AED (Automated External Defibrillator), if available. AEDs are user-friendly and can guide you through the process.

Severe bleeding (hemorrhage)

Severe bleeding can result from trauma, such as a car accident or a deep laceration. If not controlled, it can lead to shock, organ failure, and death.

The symptoms you should look for include continuous or profuse bleeding that does not stop on its own, a large wound, and/or blood soaking through clothing or bandages.

What you can do:

• Call emergency services immediately.
• Control the bleeding by applying pressures directly on the wound with a clean cloth or your hand. You can also elevate the injury, if the wound is on an arm or leg. You’ll want to raise the wound above the level of the heart to reduce blood flow to that area.
• If other measures fail, try using a tourniquet above the injury to stop the flow of blood.
• Keep the victim calm and warm to help prevent shock.

Choking

Choking occurs when an object becomes lodged in a person’s throat, obstructing their airway.

The symptoms you should look for include coughing, gagging, difficulty breathing, clutching the throat, inability to speak or make sounds and in severe cases the victim’s face turning blue and ultimately, loss of consciousness.

What you can do:

• Encourage the victim to cough.
• If they are unable to cough, bend them forwards and perform the Heimlich maneuver. Employ abdominal thrusts by placing your arms around their waist and pulling inwards and upwards, above their belly button. You can also try back blows with the heel of your hand. Repeat in counts of five to try and dislodge whatever is in their throat and blocking their airway.
• If these measures fail, call emergency services immediately and keep repeating the Heimlich maneuver until help arrives.

Burns

A burn is typically an injury to the skin caused by heat, chemicals, electricity, radiation, or friction.

The symptoms you should look for include redness, swelling, peeling, and blistering depending on the severity of the burn.

What you can do:

• Remove the heat source or cause of the burn, if possible. Or move the victim away from the source.
• Cool the burn under running water for at least 20 minutes.
• Remove any constricting clothing or jewelry near the burn, if possible.
• Cover the burn with a clean, dry cloth.
• If the burn seems severe, call emergency services immediately.
• Avoid applying ice, butter, creams, or any home remedies to a burn.

Emergency care without worry

If you’re a MASA Assist member, one thing you won’t have to worry about is the bill for getting where you need to go for emergency medical treatment. You can focus on getting prompt care off-island or wherever you need it and rely on your MASA Assist coverage to protect you from those unexpected medical air ambulance costs. Visit the member portal to review the benefits available to you and learn more about how to use them.

Remember that calling emergency services and getting help as fast as possible is important during a critical situation. Always act quickly, remain calm, and follow basic first aid protocols. Provide first aid if you have the skills and use the strategies you’ve learned to help until the professionals arrive.¹

1: Global First Aid Reference Centre, “First Aid: General Approach,” 2024