Question of the week: Do you have any first-aid training?

I have a HSE First Aid at Work qualification. I have had to deal with first aid situations on many, many occasions (I have worked with horses for years), ranging in severity from skelfs (splinters) to suspected head and spinal injuries, which were removed by air ambulance.
I have to say, I don't waste any time in calling for ambulances - nor do I take any risks with the people I am responsible for - it's much better to err on the side of caution.
S :D
 
I'm a paramedic - though without my ambulance and all it's gear I am pretty limited in what i could do better than a first aider :)

I'm sure a lot of the problems regarding First aid courses is knowing what is available and what is appropriate...if people are paying to get this sort of qualification then they need to know it is money well spent. There is also the consideration of liability insurance if you do put your skills into pratice and things don't go perfectly to plan
 
blitznbobs said:
I'm not a 'first aider' but I am a doctor and have done several years in a and e, itu and anaesthetics... and been on the pre hospital trauma course.

I have been present (just happened to be there) when a horse reared and went over on the rider... the st johns were in attendence... and were worried about her obviously broken leg... unfortuanately they'd failed to spot the fact that she wasn't breathing properly. They hadn't even called the county ambulance yet ... this was a few years ago now but I hope the first aid training has improved so that first aiders KNOW when they are out of their depth....

Blitz
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Oh please dont start me on St Johns ambulance they were useless at my local show last year when a young girl came off and got kicked in the face. I dont have first aid training only the adult resus and first aid they put us through at uni(student Midwife).
 
equine specific first aid and BSL, plus I'm a Med student :)! I have never needed for anything serious - except on myself! I ripped my finger off when I fell on the road with noone to help me - but then I amincredibly accident prone! For others it has only ever been for grazes and bruises
 
I did lots of usefull first aid in the TA, but it still doesnt prepare you for the shock of doing it for real.The truth is that however ham fisted you think you might be ,you may be some poor sods only chance.People will stand around hoping that someone else will take over. Wasting precious time. But the truth of it is ,its a bloody ,hard ,game and you dont always win.
 
I have to be a fully qualified first aider for work. Have had to treat broken fingers, wrists, arms and head injuries at work. Have never needed to use it for a horsy related incident before.
 
emt qualified plus equine specifics.

worked for both st john ambulance (is no s at end of john, pet hate!) and a private medical company.

have done first aid cover at every imaginable type of event and have 3rd crewed an ambulance with nhs and second crewed with private ambulance company.

sadly have only driven them off road as they are bigger then my licence allows currently in most instances and insurance is mad on the one i was allowed to drive so didnt use it.lol

i always carry a defib, o2 and entinox in my car plus a massive first aid kit, as said unless equipped your pretty limited in what you can do.
 
Slightly off topic, but the comments about the St John's 1st aiders reminded me of point to pointing in the southern region where a lot of the meetings were attended by army medics. We all knew that if we fell off we should leap to our feet immediately and run like stink away from them :( Unfortunately for a friend of mine, he couldn't run away being rather badly injured (broken vertebrae) but they heaved him to his feet anyway and sent him home to the IoW on the ferry :confused: he eventually got himself into hospital where he spent the next few weeks recovering :rolleyes:

I have been a qualified first aider for yonks and frequently have to deal with incidents - I'm quite often designated first aider at shows and PC/RC things where there is lots of potential for people to come a cropper. I've dealt with head injuries, neck and back injuries, ribs, dislocated and broken collar bones, and a really :eek: compound fracture of the lower leg (had to sit on that one to stop him getting up!). Funnily enough I can deal with any amount of blood and gore if it's on anyone else (or a horse) but I'm not great if it's on me :o
 
I've just done a paediatric first aid course related to my job at a riding school. Haven't had to use it yet, thank the Lord!
 
I can do 1st aid, but I won't as I don't have indemnity insurance.

When I used to event, I had "do not let St John's people near, call the vet" on my medical armband. I know they mean well, but vets are the best Drs.
 
I first did 1st aid at school where it was part of our winter sports lessons - that was 30 mumble years ago. Later I did 1st aid at work for helping with the RDA, and now I keep up to date with esfac, still for RDA.

I feel that it means that I am fully quallified to dial 999.
 
I am a first aider at work, so my training is kept up to date. Have only had to use it once when a visitor had problems with his eye. The skill I needed most to deal with that was actually assertiveness as he was convinced a first aider would have some sort of magic potion to instantly make him better and was very argumentative.

A few years a go, when I was thinking of getting back into teaching I did an equine specific first aid course. Three days later my friend's horse fell over its own feet, leaving her face down on the forest floor not breathing!!! EEEEK.
 
I took the first aiders at work course as my employer at the time paid for it. IT was something that I had wanted to do for a long time but couldn't afford, so when the opportunity came up to "screw" the company I grabbed it. I have used the skills once at work but never at the yard, however if the situation required it at least I would have had training.

one thing that was hammered home is that 9 times out of 10 an ambulance is usually needed, and that your job is to try and keep the patient alive/safe until proffesional help arrives.
 
I am no longer qualified in that my certificate has expired but I have done several First Aid training courses but my last was about 9 years ago and so although not up to date I still know all the basics and most important bits if it came to it. It was actually a compulsory subject at 6th form at school that everyone took their emergency first aid cert which I think was a fantastic idea.

I have also had various equine specific first aid training primarily through my pony club exams up to A test level.

Haven't had to ever use my human first aid in an emergency situation but the equine knowledge has been very useful in several situations from cuts to choke to colic knowing what treatment I can adminster and at what point a vet is required.
 
I used to hold the HSE first aid at work qualification.When that expired I had the emergency aid appointed persons qualification.I am also trained to administer rectal diazepam and buccal medazalam in the event of an epileptic fit. I have had to use both in relation to my job but have also used first aid at the stables last year when a lady who had fallen off and was walking around complaining of back pain. Once she started to complain of pins and needles and feeling sick I insisted she went to hospital via an ambulance.It turned out she had broken a vertebrae in her lower spine.Fortunately it was a stable fracture and she went on to make a good recovery.
 
Been a qualified first aider for about 20 years - needed it when my daughter fell off her horse and broke her arm a couple of years ago (which led weight to my argument - and wallet - that we shouldn't have horses). Other than that, just the normal scrapes (and a few bruises) you can attribute to having a small yard.
 
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