Immediate Life Support Course Introduction:
This is a certified ILS course accredited by the UK Resus Council. This CPD course meets the criteria for the General Dental Council’s development outcomes. This course includes medical emergencies as set out by the GDC in the dental practice and also includes the latest CPR and Coronavirus recommendations.
The aim is to train healthcare personnel to manage patients often in life threatening conditions such as cardiac arrest until the arrival of a paramedics or EMTs. The course is run over one day and consists of lectures and practical sessions.
What is immediate life support (ILS)?
Immediate life support (ILS) refers to the emergency medical treatment and interventions provided to critically ill or injured patients in order to stabilize their condition and prevent death. This may include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), administration of oxygen, and administration of emergency medication, intubation to assist with breathing, and defibrillation to restart the heart. The goal of immediate life support is to buy time for the patient until more advanced or definitive care can be provided. ILS courses are typically around 6 hours long and completed in one day.
Difference between Immediate Life Support and Basic Life Support:
Immediate Life Support (ILS) and Basic Life Support (BLS) are both medical procedures that provide care to individuals in emergency situations. However, they differ in terms of the level of care provided and the training required to perform them. ILS is a higher level of care than BLS (but lower than Advanced Life Support) and is typically provided by advanced medical professionals such as paramedics or emergency medical technicians (EMTs).
BLS incorporates Basic CPR Skills and use of an AED for first responders, lifeguards, and some healthcare professionals including Dental Professionals such as Dental nurses whereas ILS is more advanced care and includes CPR, Choking, AED, ABCDE Approach, advanced Airway management, Suction, Medical Emergencies (like Diabetic emergencies), Oxygen Therapy and Vital Signs.
Both ILS & BLS cover critical situations where the patient’s life is in immediate danger but ILS is more advanced and covers wider topics/situations.
Which course should I choose?
GDC requires all applicants who are trying to register as DCP under Matter C, Sections 36C(4) and (5), of the Dentists Act 1984 to have completed a hands-on ILS course within the last 12 months. The online courses are not acceptable.
If ILS is not available, then GDC will alternatively accept a combination of BLS+ALS or BLS+ACLS.
Which one you choose is entirely your choice. ALS and ACLS are excellent advanced full 2 day courses but do require a lot of pre reading and an exam at the end which some may find challenging.
ILS on the other hand is a much simpler 1 day course and involves a written exam at the end of session. This exam is much simpler and easier to understand. It is cheaper than other options and easy to pass. You will also be demonstrating CPR on the manikin etc.
ILS courses by Saint Visage Group
Saint Visage Dental Group provides ILS courses in few countries including UK & Pakistan. Outside of the UK, we are usually the only ILS provider in those countries. Our ILS courses are certified and accredited by the UK Resus council. Hence our certificates are accepted internationally by all Healthcare bodies including GDC. Saint Visage Dental Group is the first and only ILS Provider in Pakistan covering different cities across the provinces of Pakistan. We aim to provide the best and most authentic ILS training to candidates valuing their time and money. Our team has clarity in vision and purpose to fulfil the requirements and objectives of candidates who have a target to polish their skills to manage patients with airway obstruction or cardiac arrest in a limited time.
Learning Outcomes
The ILS course teaches the knowledge and skills to:
- Identify the causes and promote the prevention of cardiopulmonary arrest.
- Recognise and treat the deteriorating patients using the ABCDE approach.
- Undertake the skills of quality CPR and defibrillation (manual and /or AED) and advanced airway maneuvers; utilise non-technical skills to facilitate initial leadership and effective team membership.
I have been in two ILS sessions with Saint Visage and both of them have been very good. I learnt a lot from them. I was one of the candidates in the Multan session where the hands-on course was very efficient and I got to learn very much about the life support scenarios and how to manage them.I really recommend ILS courses by Saint Visage as it offers flexibility to attend the lectures online as well.
Saim