4 Are prehospital deaths from trauma and accidental injury preventable? A summary report Therefore, we commissioned research, under 57 per cent of cases. This is despite the injured the supervision of the original author (Professor potentially being alive at this stage. This presents Anthony Redmond), to repeat the 1994 study on a an opportunity to help, but is often a missed contemporary sample of coroners’ records. The first opportunity. study used the same historic methods of analysis. The second study refined the analysis to account for Both studies also showed that the mechanism of a more recent method of calculating the probability injury has changed, in line with trends observed of survival. Both studies analysed case records. in other studies. The number of deaths from falls increased, whereas the number of road deaths The first objective of this research was to examine decreased, but remains significant. whether there had been a change in the nature, cause and preventability of death since the original The research makes several recommendations. 1994 research. The second was to identify which, if any, interventions might reduce the number of Recommendations for the first aid training preventable deaths, with a view to informing first aid community, which includes the Red Cross: education. > Encourage action to be taken by bystanders, The studies showed that the percentage of beyond calling for the emergency services. potentially preventable or preventable deaths remains high and unchanged since 1994, and > Increase understanding that doing something is while calls for assistance were made in up to simple but life-saving: 93 per cent of cases, first aid intervention of any – maintain an open airway to keep the person kind was not as frequent. breathing by turning the person on their side and tilting their head back; A bystander or passer-by was on scene during, – put pressure on a bleed to stop the flow of immediately after or in the minutes after the point blood. of injury in up to 52 per cent of cases. However, when those found dead are excluded, a first aid > Further explore the motivation to proceed with intervention was attempted in between 43 and first aid interventions or not.