I wasn't, but the Plantmasters team needed a new first aider at work and the bottle stopped spinning when it was pointing at me!
My course was delivered by the Red Cross, and over the course of 8 hours, I saw 12 people transformed from ‘sixes’ to ‘nines’ out of ten for confidence to treat people in an emergency situation.
The training included practical, hands-on scenarios to deal with, and the obligatory comedy attempts at applying bandages to fictitious injuries, but what genuinely surprised me was the level of confidence we all gained in such a short space of time. There are now 12 more people in the world who are confident enough to competently help someone potentially fight for their life. I know I'm following the stereotypical annoying advocate path now, but I'm unapologetic for that.
I can’t recommend this course highly enough to you, and everyone you know, including your children.
My daughters first learned emergency first aid when they were 5 and 7 years old, and they carried that competency through school and RAF Air Cadets into their part-time jobs through Uni as swimming pool lifeguards. Between them, they’ve increased the chances of survival for many people in crisis both in and out of the pool. The sooner children learn, the more ‘normal’ using their skills becomes.
After using a defibrillator (trainer machine) on my course, I can promise you that if you find yourself in a situation requiring that kind of assistance, the machines are so advanced they guide you through every step. Even if you’re not at all confident, when someone is in a cardiac emergency, you’re hardly likely to make things worse by following expert advice from a machine guiding you how to do everything correctly.
If a defibrillator is used within the first 4 minutes of a person suffering a cardiac arrest, their chances of survival can increase to 70%, compared to just 5% if defibrillation is delayed.
If you call 999, the operator should be able to tell you where your nearest defibrillator is if there’s one in reach, and give you the code to access it.
Life is the most precious gift we have, so why wouldn’t we want to preserve it wherever possible? Please get trained and get involved.
If you can’t afford a course, perhaps watch some first aid or defibrillator use videos online or maybe drop a line to your local pool, fire or ambulance service and ask them if they’d be happy to demonstrate CPR for you? Just ask, you have nothing to lose but everything to gain – and it’s something the whole family can learn together.
You are capable of saving a life. Why wouldn’t you want to?
Since passing my course I have applied 4 plasters and removed a metal splinter from a finger. Watch out Dr. Ranj!
#firstaid #britishredcross #savealife #gettrained #drranj