Section 7 · Lesson 7.2
Guest and staff safety – Life-threatening emergencies
Hotels and restaurants are places through which hundreds of people pass. The risk of sudden cardiac arrest, severe allergic reaction, or choking is statistically higher here than in an office. As a HoReCa employee, you are on the front line – a guest’s life depends on your immediate reaction before the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) arrives on the scene.
Choking in the restaurant room
This is a situation requiring immediate action. The guest is holding their neck, turning blue, cannot speak or breathe (so-called total airway obstruction). Critical mistake: Do not give them water! The liquid will flow into the lungs, worsening the situation.
- In adults: Stand to the side/slightly behind the guest. Support their chest with one hand and lean them sharply forward. Deliver up to 5 vigorous blows to the area between the shoulder blades with the heel of your other hand. If this does not help, use the Heimlich Maneuver: stand behind the victim, put your arms around them, make a fist with one hand, place it in the upper abdomen (between the navel and the sternum), grasp your fist with your other hand and perform up to 5 strong pulls inwards and upwards. Continue the cycle (5 blows / 5 thrusts) until the foreign body falls out or the guest loses consciousness.
- In children: Use much less force. For a small child, perform abdominal thrusts while kneeling or squatting behind them to adjust to their height. (In infants, we absolutely do not use abdominal thrusts, but chest thrusts with two fingers).
Assessing consciousness, calling EMS and securing the scene
When you see a guest lying down, first take care of your own safety (e.g. check if nothing will fall on your head, or if you will be electrocuted). Approach, gently shake their shoulders and ask loudly: “Hello, can you hear me?”. If they do not respond, they are unconscious. Open the airway (tilt the head back) and check for breathing for 10 seconds (look, listen, feel). Lack of breathing or abnormal breathing (e.g., occasional gasps) means cardiac arrest.
- Calling EMS (112 or 999): Point to a specific person in the crowd: “You in the red shirt, call 112, bring the AED and come back to me!”.
- Securing the scene (HoReCa specifics): A crowd of onlookers hinders the rescue and violates the victim’s dignity. Ask other employees to move tables, chairs, take hot food out of reach and – if possible – screen the rescue operation (e.g., with hotel screens, tablecloths) from the sight and phones of other guests.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR/BLS)
Don’t be afraid to act – the worst thing you can do is do nothing. Lay the victim on a hard, flat surface. Kneel by their side. Place the heel of one hand in the center of the chest (lower half of the sternum), put the other hand on top of the first and interlock your fingers. Straighten your arms at the elbows.
Perform chest compressions to a depth of 5-6 cm at a rate of 100-120 compressions per minute. The sequence is 30 compressions and 2 rescue breaths.
Important: If you are unable, fear infectious diseases, or do not have a mask with a valve, skip the breaths and perform continuous chest compressions! This is fully acceptable and equally important.
AED defibrillator in the hotel
Many hotels are equipped with AED defibrillators (they often hang in the main lobby, at the reception, or by the pool area). This device is completely safe and designed to be operated by people without medical training.
Simply turn on the AED (some start after opening the lid). From then on, the device will issue loud and clear commands (e.g., “Peel off pads”, “Apply to bare chest”, “Do not touch the patient – analyzing rhythm”). The AED will never deliver a shock if the heart is beating correctly – so you cannot harm anyone with it.
Intoxications and allergies (Anaphylactic shock)
- Anaphylactic shock: A severe allergic reaction (e.g., to seafood, peanuts) can occur in a guest a few minutes after eating a dish. Symptoms include swelling of the face and lips, shortness of breath, and wheezing. Action: Call 112 immediately. Ask the guest if they carry an adrenaline auto-injector (EpiPen) and help them use it (injection into the anterolateral part of the thigh).
- Alcohol intoxication: A drunk, unconscious (but breathing!) guest must be immediately placed in the recovery position. This will prevent the tongue from collapsing and choking on their own vomit, which is the most common cause of death in such situations.
Hotel and kitchen first aid kits
First aid kits must be located in easily accessible and marked places. They should contain only dressing and rescue equipment: disposable gloves, CPR mask, plasters, bandages (knitted and elastic), sterile gauze, triangular bandages, thermal blanket (NRC foil) and rescue scissors. In the kitchen, additionally: cooling gels for burns and waterproof plasters (often blue, to easily notice them if they fall into the food).
The golden legal rule: In the workplace first aid kit, NO medicines whatsoever (not even painkillers, stomach drops or ointments) may be stored! Giving a guest or a co-worker a drug that causes an allergic reaction risks criminal liability.
Question 1 — Guest choking
While eating a steak, a guest suddenly gets up from the table, grabs their neck with both hands, has wide open eyes and turns blue in the face. They do not make a sound. What is your immediate reaction?
Question 2 — Anaphylactic shock
Moments after eating a seafood dish, a guest begins to breathe heavily and with a wheeze. Their lips swell severely. They inform you they have a strong allergy. What is the staff’s most important task in this situation?