First Aid
First Aid for a Collapsed Person: Essential Steps to Know
This guide is for general information only and doesn't replace hands-on, accredited first aid training. In a medical emergency, always call 999 (or 112) immediately.
A person can "collapse" for all sorts of reasons: fainting, a cardiac event, a seizure, or simply being unresponsive when you find them. Whatever the cause, the first few minutes matter, and the same simple sequence applies every time: check for danger, check their response, then check their airway and breathing.
Step 1: Check for danger
Before you approach, make sure the area is safe for you, the casualty and anyone nearby. Don't put yourself at risk trying to reach someone in a dangerous situation, such as near traffic or a live electrical hazard.
Step 2: Check their response
Kneel beside them, gently shake their shoulders and ask loudly if they're okay. Someone who opens their eyes, speaks or moves is responsive. No reaction at all means they're unresponsive and need urgent help.
If there's severe bleeding, deal with that first, apply direct pressure to the wound before you move on to airway and breathing, and get someone to call 999.
Step 3: Open the airway
Place one hand on their forehead to gently tilt the head back, and use two fingers under the chin to lift it. This moves the tongue away from the back of the throat and helps clear the airway.
Step 4: Check their breathing
With the airway still open, look, listen and feel for normal breathing for up to 10 seconds: watch the chest for movement, listen for breath sounds, and feel for breath on your cheek.
Watch out for agonal gasping, slow, noisy gasps with the mouth open. This is not normal breathing, it's a sign of cardiac arrest, and means you should start CPR immediately.
Unresponsive and breathing normally: recovery position
If they're unresponsive but breathing normally, place them in the recovery position and call 999 if it hasn't already been done:
- Straighten their legs, and remove glasses or anything bulky from their pockets.
- Place the arm nearest you at a right angle to their body, elbow bent, palm facing up.
- Bring their other arm across their chest, and hold the back of their hand against the cheek nearest you.
- With your other hand, pull up their far knee, keeping the foot flat on the floor.
- Keeping their hand pressed to their cheek, pull the far leg to roll them towards you, onto their side.
- Tilt their head back and lift the chin slightly, to keep the airway open.
- Monitor them closely until help arrives. If they're on their side for more than 30 minutes, roll them onto the other side.
Unresponsive and not breathing normally: call 999 and start CPR
If they're unresponsive and not breathing normally, call 999 immediately (or get someone else to, and to find a defibrillator if one's nearby) and start CPR without delay. This is a hands-on skill that's genuinely best learned in person, our Basic Life Support course covers CPR, AED use and the recovery position from scratch, with no prior experience needed.
When to call 999
Call 999 (or 112) straight away if the person is unresponsive, whether or not they're breathing normally. Don't wait to see if they improve.
Want to practise this hands-on?
Reading the steps is a good start, but confidence with a collapsed casualty comes from practising it. Our Basic Life Support and EFAW courses cover this scenario in full, with real manikins.
View Basic Life Support & EFAW