FEATURE: Reporter Kelly Felstead learns first aid
FIRST aid is one of those skills which many people think about learning but sometimes never get round to, myself included.
Knowing how to deal with certain situations, whether helping a family member at home or a stranger in the street whose had an accident, can be extremely important.
Residents were given the opportunity to learn the vital training when the Soham division of St John Ambulance held a free family first aid session in the town.
The charity tries to run about four courses for the community throughout the year, one of which is free, because it believes it is essential to get people involved in learning first aid.
Never knowing when it may come in handy, I joined the session at Soham pavilion to pick up some basic skills which could be of lifelong benefit.
Ten people took part in the day long course, some beginners while others brushed up on hazy techniques learned years ago.
To give us an idea of what first aid was we began with an introduction which gave a good general overview.
Paul Newns, the divisional trainer who took the class, told the group that as first aiders we would not able to help everybody every time.
He explained that this had nothing to do with people's abilities but sometimes even doctors and paramedics could not help further.
"As long as you have done what you can and remember to call for help you don't need to worry about what happens after that," he said.
Although in some situations there could be several people needing help Mr Newns said 99.9 per cent of the time first aiders dealt with one casualty, but stressed it was always important to put yourself first before assessing the scene and prioritising.
We were warned that occasionally a first aider might know someone they are helping and this can sometimes, particularly following serious accidents, have an after affect.
Listening to a casualty was a very part of administering first aid, explained Mr Newns, and a person's body language can be equally vital because it can show how much pain someone is experiencing.
But he said we had to be careful not to give false promises, advising that the best formula was to reassure them to do our best and that the ambulance was on its way.
The group was taught a process called the primary survey, a procedure all first aiders should follow to ensure effective, safe and prompt first aid. This includes making sure there is no danger, getting appropriate response for the person, opening their airway and checking the breathing.
During the day we covered a range of everyday situations including what to do when someone suffers an asthma attack, how to control a nose bleed, eye injuries, dealing with insect bites and stings and how to handle a person fainting.
More serious problems were also looked at such as the signs of strokes, heart attacks and meningitis and the steps a first aider should take to ensure the best possible outcome.
Choking was another incident which Mr Newns taught the group to deal with by demonstrating on a dummy called choking Charlie the correct way to administer up to five back blows with the heel of the hand.
After being shown how to bandage and control major bleeding, we split into pairs and practiced correctly putting it on the other person's arm.
We were also instructed to practise putting on a sling in case someone hurts their wrist or collarbone.
Further demonstrations were given by Mr Newns and another St John volunteer during the course of the day showing how to handle a broken leg and dealing with a head injury.
One of the most vital techniques the whole group practiced was putting a person in the recovery position, which everyone had several attempts to master.
Towards the end of the session we completed a quiz so Mr Newns could find out how much everyone had learned.
Mr Newns told me the aim of the day's trainer assessed course was to give local people the basic first aid skills needed in everyday life which could fit into one day.
"We get a lot of support from the town and it is nice to give something back and it is also one of our main methods of recruiting," he said.
"People come in and think I can do this and want to carry on.I think about 90 per cent of members have come in through doing one of these courses first.
"Personally, I would like to see everybody in schools taught it - it has started to happen a little more - because it is a really useful skill.
"Most people if they come across any situation, even a minor one, they think what should we be doing whereas a little bit of knowledge it gives them a bit of piece of mind to say I can do something."
Mr Newns, who holds the highest first aid qualification which allows him to ride as an emergency ambulance attendant, said that when someone becomes a volunteer they are able to build up their level of first aid knowledge over time.
Anyone interested in learning first aid should attend the Soham division's Thursday meetings at the pavilion at 7.30pm, or contact Serena Bilcock, acting member in charge, at serena.bilcock@soham.sja.org.uk.
For further details on St John Ambulance visit www.sja.org.uk/cambridgeshire.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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