On Friday 22nd September seven club members attended a first aid course organised by the club and held at the SFTF gym at Perivale track. Several members had recently qualified as Level 2 coaches and needed to update their first aid qualifications and they were joined by other club members who were keen to develop their skills in first aid.
The club had not been able to find a suitable and affordable course elsewhere, so Kazem contacted the Red Cross, who provided a trainer and tailored the course to the club’s needs.
The course was well structured using a good balance of videos, direct teaching, group discussion and practical activities with plenty of opportunity to ask questions.
The areas covered were: dealing with an unresponsive casualty, both breathing and not breathing, with opportunities to practice CPR and recovery position. We also learnt how to recognise and help someone who is having a heart attack, stroke, seizure , severe allergic reaction or is choking. Dealing with burns, breaks and serious bleeds were also covered and the participants all had the opportunity to practice bandaging each other!
Trainer Andrew put everyone at their ease and gave useful tips on how to remember vital information in an emergency situation. By the end of the training everybody had acquired a range of skills that will make them better prepared to help someone who is ill or injured and deal with an emergency situation calmly and confidently. It is reassuring to know that we now have more than enough qualified first aiders at the gym.
