Red Cross Blogs

---

Would you ask for less homework? For better school dinners? Or for longer holidays?

On Tuesday 31 January the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP – Secretary of State for Education – will meet parliament’s Education Committee, where MPs will field questions from members of the public.

You can submit your question online, too, using the Twitter hashtag #AskGove.

First aid and humanitarian education

We see this committee as a great opportunity to highlight Pupil, citizen, life-saver – our campaign to add first aid and humanitarian education to the school curriculum. We know that it is a pressing concern for teachers, parents and pupils, who all value the Red Cross’ work in schools.

In 2011 we responded to the Department of Education’s national curriculum review of the essential knowledge and skills taught in schools. Now the department is reviewing responses around the core subjects of English, maths, science and physical education before they tackle other subjects to be included in the new National Curriculum.

A great campaign response

Since we launched our Pupil, citizen, life-saver e-campaign, our supporters have asked over 50 local MPs to sign our parliamentary petition. So, thanks to those who have taken part – and if you haven’t yet, you can ask your MP too.

Education isn’t – and shouldn’t be – just about reading, writing and maths. At its core, education should also be about gaining practical knowledge that will help people to be more confident, willing and able to help in a crisis. And what’s more practical than learning to save someone’s life? That’s why we asked Michael Gove questions about the curriculum.

Schools provide an ideal forum for learning how to cope with challenging situations, and the British Red Cross has an excellent track record with over five years helping teachers use our creative resources in the classroom.

We’ll be listening out for our questions (and the answers) on Tuesday during the Committee’s meeting – and we hope you will too.

For more information about our advocacy work, email advocacy@redcross.org.uk.

---

Comments (0) »

---

Tags: advocacy, campaign, citizen, e-campaign, education, life-saver, parliament, policy, pupil, Twitter

---

---

To celebrate the holiday season and the launch of our free first aid mobile app, we’re giving away three single-person first aid kits in a Christmas photo competition.

How to enter
To be in with a chance of winning, send us a seasonal photograph that involves the Red Cross* – for example:

• The Christmas decorations in your local British Red Cross shop
• A festive Red Cross event
• Red Cross volunteers (if you can catch them) working in the snow.

Email your photographs to socialmedia@redcross.org.uk, with

• your name
• your Twitter or Facebook user name (if you have one)
• your email address
• a brief description of your photograph and why you believe you should win.

What you’ll win
We’re giving away three of these attractive and potentially life-saving single-person first aid kits, modelled here by our social media assistant Ed Lyon:

The single-person first aid kit is full of useful emergency first aid supplies like bandages, a first aid emergency guide, wound dressings and plasters – all in a handy zippable pouch you can strap round your waist.

*Please note: We won’t be able to award any photographs that feature modified or homemade versions of the Red Cross emblem, as it’s a protected symbol under international humanitarian law. However, photographs of British Red Cross shop signs, volunteers’ uniforms, badges, collection boxes, etc. that feature the official emblem are obviously fine.

The competition will be open over Christmas and the New Year, and we will be announcing the three winners on 6 January 2012.

Good luck and get snapping!

---

Comments (0) »

---

Tags: competition, First aid, first aid kit, mobile app, photography

---

---

For one Danish man, in particular, it would appear that Red Cross first aid training refreshes the skills other courses can’t reach.

Kim Lorentzen (51), from Storvorde in Denmark, has worked on offshore oil platforms for the past 11 years. Given the potentially hazardous nature of his occupation, he needs to have up-to-date first aid skills and has endured quite a few (dreary) training courses over the years.

So when he got a new job recently on a wind farm off the coast of Norfolk, Kim was unsurprised to be packed off to Manchester to brush up on his first aid skills. But this time he went on a Red Cross training course. Here’s what he said:

“I’ve had first aid training several times before in connection with my work, and it has always been kind of boring – which is why the Red Cross course was such a nice change.

Our trainer, Jane Tindall, had a positive mood and energy that spread to all the participants. She made the course light-hearted and fun, which made us students automatically become more active and listen more intensely.

The course was full of really good ideas. It included fun mini-competitions that we all eagerly participated in. Instead of writing things down, sometimes we drew them, which was useful both for teaching us key first aid lessons and getting the occasional healthy laugh. At other times we were split into small groups, which meant we could learn from other people’s viewpoints.

Such a varied, theatrical approach to the training was a big contributing factor to making the learning more memorable.

As English isn’t my first language, I have often experienced difficulties during first aid training because I couldn’t quite hear all the words in a sentence. However, Jane made sure she spoke in a way that was easy to understand, so this old problem didn’t arise.

I learned such a lot on the course – it exceeded my expectations considerably – and our trainer should take much of the credit for that. She was so professional and friendly, and made the course a rewarding experience that I’ll remember with joy.

When I need to have some refresher training for my first aid skills, I’ll certainly recommend to my employers that it should be with the British Red Cross.”

Jane added: “‘We’re always determined to make sure that everyone who comes to our courses – no matter what age, capability, or indeed nationality – enjoys their session and gets all they can from it. Kim was a great student and I’m confident that, if he does come across an emergency, he’ll know exactly what to do.”

---

Comments (0) »

---

Tags: First aid, first aid training

---

---

It’s Road Safety Week (21-27 November) and this year’s theme is ‘Too young to die’ – a poignant choice, given that road accidents remain the biggest killer of young people in the UK.

This country has an unenviable record for road safety. In fact, we see around 2,000 thousand deaths per year, each one a personal tragedy causing heartache and an irrevocable sense of loss. And that’s why the Red Cross believes it’s so important to equip drivers with basic first aid skills.

Why is first aid so important? Take just one example: a road casualty can die due to a blocked airway in less than four minutes – while it takes around eight minutes for emergency services to reach even the most urgent cases. But the remedy is simplicity itself. In such a case, just knowing how to roll an unconscious casualty onto their side and lift their chin can be all it takes to save a life.

According to one study, 55 per cent of deaths caused by road accidents occur in the first few minutes after a crash, before the emergency services arrive. And up to 85 per cent of those deaths could be prevented if first aid was given during that time.

Given that the first person on the scene of a collision will almost certainly be another road user, it’s really important to ensure that they know the first aid basics.

Here at the Red Cross, I occasionally write heart-warming stories where our first aiders have happened across an accident scene and used their expertise to save  the day. That’s great, but it’s also the exception.

If the appalling death toll on Britain’s roads is to be reduced, then learning life-saving first aid skills should be statutory for those taking a driving test. Only then will we really start to address the tragic scenario that is constantly replayed on our roads.

---

Comments (3) »

---

Tags: First aid, first aid tips, first aid training, road safety

---

---

Picture the scene: the man in front of you has collapsed, his heart has stopped and only you can save him by performing CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation). Is now the time to start sifting through your mental musical jukebox for an up-tempo number?

Up till recently, the answer would probably have been yes. For a while now, potential life-savers have been encouraged to mentally follow certain songs in order to keep up a steady rate of CPR compressions.

In the USA, people were advised to follow the beat of the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive song. In the UK, a rather more prosaic Nellie the Elephant was the preferred track.

But a new study, published in Emergency Medicine Journal, has shown that such musically-themed interventions often aren’t effective, for one simple reason: sing-song life-savers tend to concentrate so much on keeping the right rhythm that they don’t compress the casualty’s chest deeply enough.

The UK Resuscitation Council recommends a rate of 100-120 compressions per minute during CPR – but also stresses that the chest should be compressed by 5-6 cm.

Correctly performed CPR is life-saving and can triple survival rates – but unless the compressions are deep enough, you’re essentially using someone as a drum kit while singing Nellie the Elephant.

The new study measured responses using a number of ‘recommended’ songs (including, inevitably, Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus) and found that more than a third of compressions were too shallow.

The study concluded: “We are unconvinced that music provides any benefit in improving the quality of CPR…and suggest that this interesting but unproductive area of resuscitation research should be discontinued.”

Still, better alternatives are just around the corner. Technology means that some devices – even smartphones – can now sense the pressure and rate of chest compressions.

And, music or no, the key thing is to try to help. As Joe Mulligan, head of first aid learning at the Red Cross, puts it: “It’s important not to get too distracted by the mechanics and rules of applying CPR. Just dial 999 then start giving steady chest compressions until emergency help arrives.”

---

Comments (5) »

---

Tags: First aid, first aid tips, first aid training

---