Red Cross Blogs

Chris Jefferies

Did you know that August 2010 – 2011 is the UN International Year of Youth? Did you also know that 2011 is the European Year of Volunteering? Over the next year, Red Cross National Societies across the world will be celebrating the contributions of their young volunteers, and the British Red Cross is no exception.

The British Red Cross has over 4000 volunteers under the age of 26. Young people contribute to many services from providing first aid at events, helping loan wheelchairs or befriending vulnerable refugees. With so many young volunteers it’s important that we make our voice heard and get involved in decision-making.

As part of this, the British Red Cross is going to hold its largest ever youth consultation event: Red100. One weekend in January, 100 of our most active young volunteers will descend on the quiet market town of Grantham. Their mission? To discuss how young people can make a real impact at all levels within the British Red Cross. The volunteers attending will also be selecting peers to represent the British Red Cross at various international gatherings for young Red Cross volunteers. This includes the General Assembly – a gathering of all the Red Cross National Societies from around the world!

In addition, Red100 is being organised by a team of seven passionate young volunteers representing all parts of the UK. Our aim is to make the event interactive, fun and an amazing experience for all the participants. Grantham – here we come!

Find out more about volunteering for the British Red Cross.

Are you already a young volunteer and interested in the conference? If so, search for ‘Red100′ on RedRoom.

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Tags: national youth conference, red100
Posted in Young volunteers

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Last weekend, Formula 1 (F1) fans across the world turned their attention to the Principality of Monaco. Despite being the second smallest country in the world, Monaco hosts one of the most prestigious events in the F1 calendar – the Monaco Grand Prix. Set in the winding city streets of Monte Carlo, the ‘Circuit de Monaco’ is seen as one of the most demanding tracks in F1 racing.

The Monaco Red Cross play a vital part in the organisation and running of this prestigious event. They are responsible for providing first aid cover to the grandstands (which can hold up to 10,000 people) and also to the marshals and staff track-side. Due to the size of the event, the Monaco Red Cross invite teams of Red Cross first aiders from throughout Europe to help out at the event. Included in this invitation is the British Red Cross.

So last week, myself and five other Event First Aid volunteers packed our first aid kits and headed out to Monaco. This was certainly once in a lifetime opportunity, the British Red Cross cover a variety of large and interesting events here in the UK, however none can quite match the prestige and glamour of the Monaco Grand Prix!

We arrived in time for the briefing of Red Cross teams on Wednesday. The number of people involved and the organisation was staggering. Hundreds of first aiders, doctors, nurses, marshals, fire fighters and ambulance crews would be deployed during the event. Our team had two areas to cover, the exit of the tunnel and one of the grandstands. We would be working along side Red Cross colleagues from Italy, Switzerland, Andorra, Germany, France and of course Monaco.

The days were long, up at 6am (a challenge for some!) and finishing in the evening. Although race-day was Sunday, we were ‘on duty’ from Thursday to cover qualifying and practice sessions. Being at the exit of the tunnel was an extraordinarily experience with Formula 1 cars passing within metres of you. Ear defenders became my best friend!

Luckily the whole event proved to be mostly uneventful for us – plasters and Paracetamol were the order of the day. It was a great experience to be part of a team of professional volunteers working to keep the public safe. Well done to the whole team.

Moral of the story? Become an Event First Aid volunteer. You never know where you might end up.

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Tags: event first aid, formula 1, grand prix, monaco
Posted in First aid, International

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In a few days, five intrepid young British Red Cross volunteers will be boarding a plane bound for Belgrade, Serbia. Their mission? To take part in the Red Cross of Serbia’s first aid training camp. Before images of ‘band camp’ (but with bandages) jump into your head please let me explain…

Every year, 28 National Red Cross / Red Crescent Societies gather to take part in the European first aid competition.  This competition pits teams of elite first aiders against each other as they tackle a range of challenging situations such as staged bus crashes, shootings and other incidents. I was lucky enough to take part in the 2009 competition and you can read all about my experiences in previous posts.

The Red Cross of Serbia take this competition very seriously. Their team has won the last three competitions (impressive stuff indeed). As part of their training, they run intensive weeklong first aid camps. We’ve been invited to take a team of young first aiders along to train along side the Serbian team. This camp will stretch their first aid skills to the limit as they work alongside their Serbian colleagues.

Leading the team is Lottie Stevens (16). Lottie, pictured, joined the Red Cross aged 15 and is an active peer educator. I caught up with her recently and asked her what she was expecting from the trip – “I’m hoping to gain more skills and soak up the culture of Serbia. First aid competitions are useful because they are so realistic which helps develop your confidence in emergency situations”.

None of these young volunteers are super heroes, they’re just ordinary young people who’ve chosen to volunteer their time. Sound interesting? There’s a whole range of opportunities for young people in the Red Cross, find out how you can get involved today!

Update: The young volunteers that visited the Red Cross of Serbia were in no way related to the British Red Cross team which participated at FACE 2010 in Belgrade. This was a separate trip designed to give our young people experience of how a different National Society operates and to extend their first aid skills.

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Tags: Belgrade, FACE, First aid, first aid competition, NAFAC, Serbia, young people
Posted in First aid, International

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There’s an interesting article running on the BBC website at the moment, all dog owners could soon have to insure their dog against attacking people. I can see it now – comparethepoodle.com, for courageous poodles. Maybe not.

Joking aside, whilst reading the article a shocking fact jumped out at me – “Each week, more than 100 people are admitted to hospital after dog attacks.” I certainly never realised dog bites were so common. I’ve personally only seen one dog bite in my first aid career (and that was from a police dog – a story for another blog post I think…)

Luckily though, there’s some handy first aid knowledge that can help you out if you ever encounter a dog bite.

Dog bites can cause quite deep puncture wounds to the skin. One of the biggest risks is from germs and infection. Perhaps the most well known infection is rabies, a serious disease affecting the nervous system. Luckily for us, the last known case of rabies in the UK was over a century ago. However, if you travel to other countries where rabies is present you need to be aware of this risk! Worldwide there are an estimated 55,000 cases of rabies a year.*

In the event of someone suffering a dog bite, you can do the following things:

• Thoroughly wash the bite and the area around it with warm soapy water. This is to reduce the risk of infection.
• Pat dry the wound with sterile gauze swabs.
• Cover the wound with a sterile dressing.
• Seek medical advice promptly, if you can then try and identify the animal.

If there is severe bleeding, then elevate the wound and apply direct pressure to control the bleeding. You can find out more about major bleeding on the British Red Cross website. If you suspect the casualty is suffering from shock then do not delay in calling an ambulance.

Remember your personal safety comes first – if there’s a rabid dog running around then I’d suggest calling someone to deal with it first. Someone far braver than me.

* Statistics from the Health Protection Agency

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Tags: dog bites, First aid, first aid tips, infection, rabies
Posted in First aid

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I vividly remember the very first person I helped as a first aid volunteer.

Summer 2007, I’d only just joined the British Red Cross at the sprightly age of 15. After several days of training, I was attending my first event as a fully qualified Red Cross volunteer. Our team was providing medical cover for a large martial arts grading event.

Although I’d passed my first aid course with flying colours, I was nervous before the event began. There’s quite a difference between the classroom and the real thing! Two experienced adult volunteers took me under their wing and I would be working with them for the day.

Hundreds of spectators had turned out to watch their family and friends compete. Wearing a bright yellow jacket, with a big sign saying “first aid” is not the best way to appear inconspicuous.

At our first aid post, a few people trickled in. Most wanted blisters dressed, or suspected sprains/strains looked at. Some just wanted a plaster. “Easy peasy” I thought.

Rosie was taking part in the under-16s category. This was supposed to be non-contact, and she was wearing full protective clothing just in case. All these precautions didn’t help however, when her opponent misjudged a move and delivered a vicious blow to her head.

“Guys, we need some help over here!” Suddenly, that yellow jacket seemed even more conspicuous.

Over we went, all three of us carrying various bits of kit. Rosie was lying prone on the ground, as we approached we could see she was conscious. Brian, my colleague took the lead.

“Hey there, stay nice and still for me, Chris here is just going to hold your head. Don’t worry, it’s just a precaution”

I obliged, painfully aware that hundreds of sets of eyes were following our every move. However I soon forgot all about this as I focussed on the task at hand.

Rosie was complaining of pain in her neck, and she had some pins and needles in her hands. These are all classic signs of a possible spinal injury. Swiftly, Brian established there were no other injuries and an ambulance was called. I was still holding her head and doing my best to reassure her.

The paramedics arrived and working as a team we transferred Rosie carefully into the ambulance for a trip to hospital. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was back to the blisters and plasters in the first aid post.

Three years on and I’ve met many more people like Rosie – in need of help. I’ve moved on from being a trainee to a trainer, from being mentored to mentoring, from a novice first aider to being part of an emergency ambulance crew.

When a call comes in, that slight twinge of nervousness is still there. However, so is the feeling of making a difference, being there during a distressing and painful moment in someone’s life.

Making a simple gesture of humanity.

Do you know what the best part is?

You can too. Get involved today.

All names, ages and other details have been changed to protect patient confidentiality and privacy.

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Posted in First aid

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