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I completed a first aid course with the medics last summer. I was very impressed with the level of instruction we received and the medics received. I had previously considered the medics to be a plaster and paracetamol unit! THey were being trained by professionals and were very enthusiastic.
The first aid course members posed as casualties for a medic exercise. The medics came on the scene under a lot of pressure from their instructors. With a lot of noise and shouting each casualy was attended to in an efficient manner. Each team that completed the exercise correctly identified how to treat the casualties.
from my own personal exp within the pdf it was drilled into every one to carry their own first aid kit . u were told what to carry and it was up to yourself to buy the items . fist aid training was carried out in recruit training and left at that .if u were lucky u could get on to courses run by depot med but these were rare . i done a course run by a civvy company and managed to get it recognised by my company. as to equipment i remember having to beg borrow and steal to get a decent kit bag to take on the ground since the only one in stores dated from the emergency it was so old
What contents would you recommend in a first aid kit to be carried in webbing? Feel free to add or subtract to the suggestions below, justify your amendments if possible.
Hmmmm going by my background I have to "wade" into this one
I would STRONGLY suggest carrying a few triangular bandages, I would say with the tablets remember that they are for your personal use only, not that of your mate unless you are a Doc, they might have an allergy to paracetemol!
As for First Aid Training I am disgusted to see that the Army dosent do any refresher training, that is if what ollie says is true. A civilian would be hung from the highest rafters if they treated someone and got something wrong, Id imagine it would be the same if an Army person treated a civillian based on their by now out of date training they would be hung drawn and quartered.
If you can do a refresher course by all means do so, I would strongly recommend REC (Rescue and Emergency Care) courses as they generally assume that help is 30 mins + away, if anyone wants contacts them pvt message me and I will forward details. Most of the courses can be organised to last for a weekend or series of weekends.
In my own experience First Aid courses are an after thought, in other words something that’s on the programme but can be conveniently brushed aside if time is pressing.
Ill have a look and see If I can put any good FA links on the site for you but they do of course come with the provision that you need to arrange training!!
Lets start with a small quiz to see what you can remember, What is the first thing you do when you come across a casualty? Answers on the back of a post card to the usual address! (i.e. here!)
An Emergency Blanket could be thrown into the First Aid Kit too, they're extremely compact and are handy for a number of different things.
It rapidly absorbs sunlight, retains radiated body heat and keeps moisture out.
Also can double as a ground sheet (granted a very shiny one but a ground sheet all the same) or can be shoved inside your clothes to add an extra layer when its really cold.
The Irish Water Safety's 'Basic Life Support Manual' is extremely comprehensive and is based on the protocols which are now used in most of Europe. It's not available on line unfortunately, but is cheap enough to get a copy.
I noticed that much of the First Aid Training that is given by Medics in the FCA is slightly dated and is frowned upon by other organisations which teach First Aid in Ireland. Don't really know what it's like these days, and whether or not they've cleaned up their act, but I remember at my Recruit Camp we got a lecture from a Cpl. with one of the medic companies and the techniques he was trying to 'pass on' were ancient.
He even nearly managed to break some poor lads hand trying to put him into his version of the recovery position.
Luckily on of my fellow NCO's is an excellent first-aider who is a member of the order of Malta. Unfortunately too much reliance is placed on this fact. I've done plenty of safety and CPR courses for my profession, but in the RDF nothing I could call a proper course just bits and pieces here and there, definitely not to feel confident enough to treat someone if they had a serious accident.
The 2 Field Medics ran an occupational safety and first aid course 2 years ago (1 weeks full time). The techniques they used seemed to up to date (of course this is the opinion of somebody who wouldn't know the difference), a lot of their members also worked in the Health field. The problem is that we don't seem to integrate it properly into our basic courses.
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