First aid

Ben’s Story: A life-saving volunteering adventure

British Red Cross volunteer Ben Moon is spending 10 weeks with the Paraguayan Red Cross, strengthening the organisation and help its volunteers and staff do more for people in crisis.

Ben, who normally uses his first aid and emergency response skills to help people in the UK, is one of nine volunteers from across Europe heading to the Paraguayan town of Encarnación as part of the Volunteers in Capacity Building Projects (VinCaB) scheme. Dozens of VinCaB volunteers from European Red Cross societies and other organisations are visiting countries across Latin America and the Balkans to work on humanitarian projects.

In Encarnación, their work includes setting up a group of Red Cross lifeguards in the town, teaching first aid and helping local organisations work together to deal with disasters and emergencies. Ben, an environmental consultant from Cardiff, has shared some highlights of the trip so far: More

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Why teaching young offenders first aid is good for everyone

A woman bends over a man lying on the ground with blood on his faceLearning first aid gives everyone the confidence and skills to save the lives of others. But can it help vulnerable teenagers transform their own lives too? That’s the lesson from young offenders who have picked up vital first aid knowledge thanks to the Red Cross.

Red Cross first aid trainer Lucy Kiddle has seen the transformation for herself. Recently, she went to Newham College in London and asked a group of young people if they had ever used first aid.  One teenager said he had once slowed the bleeding of a friend who had been stabbed and slashed, saving his life.

After the session, Lucy went to congratulate the teenager for his quick thinking.  But then she made a surprising discovery – she had taught him those life-saving skills when he was a young offender. More

First aid, UK 2

Join Red Cross. Visit Monaco Grand Prix

Well, not everyone gets to go – but each year we send a small team of first aiders to provide cover at the big racing event. Here’s what team leader Linda Izquierdo-Ross had to say about this year’s trip:

I suppose most people imagine being a first aider at the Grand Prix involves standing around looking at the nice cars and occasionally waving at Lewis Hamilton as he drives past.

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Practice makes perfect: How I prepared for a major emergency

 

A fireman comforts an injured woman

© Joy Clift-Hill/BRC

British Red Cross operations director Joy Clift-Hill helps people prepare for emergencies. She shares her experiences of Exercise Georgiana, a simulation that saw the Red Cross and other organisations rehearse what they would do in a disaster.

The adrenaline rush I get when called out to an emergency surprises me every time. After 35 years of responding to emergency situations – first in the health service as a ward sister and nurse manager and now as an operations director of the British Red Cross – that injection of adrenaline enables you to function at a very different level.

Exercise Georgiana was no exception. It was played in real time – and the reputation and expectations of the British Red Cross were on the line. 

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‘I saved my choking baby’s life’

New mother Ruth Davies was impressed when she took a Red Cross baby and child first aid course. And only a few months later, she realised just how useful her training had been. Here’s her story:

My son Jimmy recently fell over and hit his head while he was eating a piece of bread. He started to cry immediately but, as I picked him up, he sucked in. I thought he was holding his breath, which he does quite often, so blew on his face gently, which usually makes him start breathing again. However, this time he didn’t.

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Turning the spotlight on self-harm

With young people desperate to know how to help friends who have self-harmed, the British Red Cross has developed new first aid advice about the issue.

The organisation’s Life Live it campaign has top tips on its Facebook page, such as what do if someone has cut or burned themselves. While a new video from YouTube star SprinkleofGlitter tackles the issue of self-harm by self-poisoning. More

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Cardiac arrest or heart attack?

They’re both deadly, but would you know which was which in an emergency?

Of all the medical conditions, cardiac arrest and heart attacks are perhaps the best known and least understood. Here’s the problem:

1. Both can quickly prove fatal.
2. They each require radically different treatments.
3. Most people don’t know the difference between them.

To help explain things, let’s use a simple car analogy. Imagine you’re driving a car and the fuel pipe feeding petrol to the engine becomes blocked, leading the vehicle to splutter and not work properly. This, basically, is a heart attack. More

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First aid belongs at work

Given an impending change to British law, Joe Mulligan, our head of first aid education, argues that first aid training in the workplace is more important than ever.

The times are indeed a-changin’. Traditionally, any organisation wanting to provide first aid training in workplaces has had to first get approval from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).

But it now looks likely that, in October, the government will rubber-stamp a new law that means employers will be free to choose any first aid training company they like. More

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