Latest news with #firstaid
Daily Mail
a day ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Revealed: The secret code used by Coles staff over the loudspeaker
A curious Coles shopper has questioned the meaning behind a mysterious coded message recently heard over the in-store loudspeaker. Taking to Reddit, a Melbourne woman shared a post under the heading: 'Coles employees of Australia, what is a "code blue"?' The shopper explained that she'd recently been in a supermarket when she heard the cryptic coded message announced over the storewide PA system. She wrote in the post: 'I was in a Coles the other day in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and overheard a "code blue" on the speaker.' 'Out of curiosity, what could this mean? Is it a medical emergency?' The post was shared this week to the 'Ask An Australian' Subreddit and quickly attracted over a hundred helpful replies. The top upvoted response confirmed the original poster's hunch. It said: 'A code blue is a medical emergency.' 'When called, any first aid trained team member [is] to assist and call an ambulance if required.' Another response from a person who claimed to be a first-aid trained Coles staffer elaborated that a code blue announcement was made 'when someone requires first aid in the store'. 'The protocol is to call, for example, "code blue service desk" three times. 'Any first aid trained team in the store are to attend to give first aid as needed,' they added. 'Using the example in my previous sentence, the incident has happened at/by the service desk so that's where we would attend too.' FEMAIL reached out to a Coles spokesperson, who confirmed that the Reddit sleuths were indeed correct in their assessment. In their stores, a 'code blue' announcement over the speakers occurs when there's a medical emergency situation in store. The coded message serves to inform staff that one of their first aid trained team members is required to support a customer. 'The safety of our team and customers is our top priority, and as such we have a number of codes to communicate with our store team when needed,' they said. 'These codes are used in situations where we need our team, who all work in different areas of the store, to take specific actions,' the spokesperson continued. '[T]his can include situations related to medical emergencies or if a store needs to be evacuated.' Interestingly, some responses to the recent the Reddit post noted that a "code blue" message has a slightly different meaning when used in medical settings, like a hospital. In those circumstances, commenters said that a code blue announcement usually referred to a serious life threatening health episode involving a patient. 'A code blue is for a cardiac/respiratory arrest or major haemorrhage,' read part of a reply from a person who worked in a medical field. But in 'non-clinical' settings, others explained that a 'code blue' message was more often used generally to refer to any situation when someone was in need of first aid or medical attention – even if it were not necessarily an emergency. One person in the comments questioned why stores like Coles would go to the extent of using a coded message, rather than just directly announcing that they needed first aid assistance in store. To this point, the original poster insightfully replied: 'I'm assuming the code is there for convenience, privacy and to prevent panic or nosy onlookers.'
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Edmonton officer cleared by ASIRT in wellness check killing
Edmonton police officers shot and killed a woman in an apartment building in the area of 18 Avenue and 32 Street on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. (Brandon Lynch/CTV News Edmonton) Alberta's police watchdog has cleared an Edmonton police officer in the killing of a woman during a wellness check in 2023. On Dec. 6, 2023, officers were called to an addiction recovery centre in southeast Edmonton to perform a wellness check on a woman who was potentially suicidal. Police went up to the woman's suite and began knocking on her door and calling out but did not receive a response. The report, completed by Alberta's Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) on Thursday, said police breached the woman's suite as they thought she may be in medical distress. Officers found her alone in bed where she told them to leave. While police were speaking with the woman, she said she had a gun under the covers, prompting officers to draw their firearms. ASIRT reported that one officer pulled the covers to reveal the gun, which was later found to be a BB gun. Firearm The Alberta Serious Incident Response team said this firearm was found at the scene. (Supplied) The woman made a move for it and was then simultaneously tased and shot by two officers, according to the report. Officers began performing first aid until EMS arrived. The woman was declared dead at the scene. An autopsy report revealed the woman had died by a gunshot wound to the upper left arm which entered her chest. The report also showed she had elevated levels of alcohol combined with several benzodiazepine-type medications in her system. '(The officer's) use of force was proportionate, necessary and reasonable,' said ASIRT's conclusion. 'As a result, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that an offence was committed.' Family said her death was 'unnecessary' A statement released by her parents shortly after her death said it was the result of 'a complete mishandling of the tools available to law enforcement in the application of dealing with mental health issues.' 'Had the approach been gradual and of a gentle nature, and had she fully understood the nature of the visit, I don't believe things would have escalated,' said the parents. 'The tasing should have been sufficient to incapacitate her, but nevertheless resulted in lethal force being used.' With files from CTV News Edmonton's Brittany Ekelund
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Vehicle hits pedestrians near primary school in Beijing
A vehicle crashed into pedestrians in an "accident" near a primary school in Beijing on Thursday, with footage shared online showing young people lying seriously injured in the street. Videos geolocated by AFP to an intersection in Miyun district in the northeast of the capital showed a grey SUV wedged against a tree as several motionless people were seen in the road. In one clip a bloodied young person was being given first aid by somebody in white overalls, while in others items of clothing were scattered around. Chinese authorities said the casualties were taken to hospital, but did not give details on numbers or their condition. "On June 26, 2025, at around 1 pm, a traffic accident occurred near the intersection of Yucai Road and Dongmen Street in Miyun district," police said in a statement. No.1 Primary School Miyun Beijing -- where children aged six to 12 go to class -- is located at the traffic junction. A 35-year-old man surnamed Han "collided" with people "due to an improper operation", the statement said, adding those injured were taken to hospital. "The accident is under further investigation," the statement said, without giving the number of injured. An AFP team on Thursday evening saw about 30 onlookers standing behind yellow and black concrete police barriers. A pick-up truck appeared to be being used to remove the remnants of the tree into which the vehicle had crashed. Shortly after arriving, the AFP journalists were told by police to leave the scene. A 19-year-old resident who gave his name as Cheng said he went to the intersection after hearing about the crash from his parents. "When I went down, the victims had already been taken away and the car was gone," he said, adding he saw lots of people and emergency vehicles in the area at about 4 pm. - Spate of incidents - China has seen a string of mass casualty incidents -- from stabbings to car attacks -- challenging its reputation for good public security. Last year a man who ploughed his car into a crowd of mostly school children in central China was handed a suspended death sentence with a two-year reprieve. In November 2024 the attacker named as Huang Wen repeatedly rammed his car into a crowd outside a primary school in Hunan province. When the vehicle malfunctioned and stopped, Huang got out and attacked bystanders with a weapon before being apprehended. Thirty people, including 18 pupils, sustained minor injuries. Some analysts have linked the incidents to growing anger and desperation at the country's slowing economy and a sense that society is becoming more stratified. In November last year, a man killed 35 people and wounded more than 40 when he rammed his car into a crowd in the southern city of Zhuhai, the country's deadliest attack in a decade. And in the same month, eight people were killed and 17 wounded in a knife attack at a vocational school in the eastern Chinese city of Yixing. acc-sam-je/dhw
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
One dead, one critical after suspicious crash in Auckland
File image. Photo: Police say a person has died and another is in a critical condition following a suspicious crash in Auckland overnight. At about 1am in Manurewa, officers spotted a Mitsubishi vehicle being chased by an Isuzu and signalled for the Isuzu to stop after becoming concerned. Moments after lights and sirens were activated, the Isuzu hit the Mitsubishi, causing the vehicle to leave the road and collide with a tree. Officers immediately rendered first aid, however the passenger of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver was taken to hospital in a critical condition. The driver of the Isuzu was arrested and taken to hospital with minor injuries. Police have launched a critical incident investigation. More to come.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
You're using plasters WRONG! First aid myth is triggering nasty infections, doctor warns
It's an age-old first aid adage that many swear by: It's important to let a wound breathe. But now, a TV doctor has revealed 'airing out' a cut rather than covering it with a plaste can not only prevent healing, but also result in potentially serious infections and scarring. Dr Zoe Williams, an NHS GP working in London and resident doctor for ITV 's This Morning, warned forgoing plasters for even a short while is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Even tiny cuts can get infected with germs and bacteria during everyday activities like showering or swimming, she said in a fresh alert. In worst-case scenarios, these infections can spread to other areas of the body, and even trigger life-threatening sepsis. The best way to treat a wound is to apply a plaster, which ensures it has a clean and moist environment, she advised. 'This is not only important for rapid healing, but also to minimise scarring.' But she added that it is important to clean a graze before applying a plaster to the wound. If you try and naturally 'air out' your wound it can prevent it from healing as well as cause infections and scarring Dr Zoe Williams warned This can be done by washing your hands, rinsing the wound with clean water or wound spray and gently drying it with a clean cloth first. Dr Williams' advice comes as a poll of 2,000 adults by the plaster company Elastoplast found 42 per cent believed the myth letting a wound breath is the best way for it to heal. Only 14 per cent of respondents knew that keeping a cut moist would help it to repair faster. The poll also found a third of the adults had touched a wound before washing the hands. While it isn't clear if it is because of how they treated their wounds, the adults reported scarring (19 per cent), infections (17 per cent) and swelling (16 per cent). The doctor recommended hydrocolloid plasters which can help the cut 'maintain a moist environment' and offer pain relief and longer wear. But if you have an allergy to plasters you can still cover up your wound with dressing like a bandage or pad, which can be bought from pharmacies, she added. The most common ways adults got cuts, grazes and injuries were indoor DIY work (39 per cent), hiking or walking (27 per cent), playing team sports (23 per cent) and cycling or mountain (19 per cent), the survey revealed.
