More excitement.

I'm camping out later this week with Rixy.

Hopefully heading for Scafell and Scafell Pike. Would love to have done it with the whole group, but wanted to include a camp...this is the only date available this month due to other commitments, the next 2 months are a definate NO, as the Wife is due to give birth at the end of September...and November/December will be too cold for us lacking experience :-D

So, camping it is...and then at the end of the week, a ridiculously early start as I'm covering First Aid at the Yorkshire Dales Walking Festival.

I'll update as soon as I can, and will hopefully have some great pictures of the camp.

St John Ambulance Unit Meeting

We have our unit meeting every Wednesday. Tonight was no exception apart from the addition of another local unit joining us.

Tonight was TRAUMA, awesome!
Well actually, not as awesome as expected.

Our trainer, Niel, had more in mind than time allowed, but the time allowed gave me some great tips etc.

Neil did some of the training for my First Aid course. I liked his style then, and I like it now.
It's upbeat and makes you feel welcome. It teaches you stuff withot if feeling like a chore.
I could easily imagine our Assistant Unit Leader and Niel making a great team when it comes to teaching (but they aren't, and probably never will be).

So what did we learn tonight? We learnt how to quickly deal with a bleed.
This probably comes as second nature to anybody who has been in St John Ambulance for a while, and anybody with good First Aid training. To me, somebody new to First Aid, and somebody quite reserved and quiet, this was gonna be a hurdle to overcome. I'm not a great people person, I'm not one for speaking much to be honest. It may be the face to face thing. I can easily talk for England on a keyboard (not that I needed to tell you that)

Anyway, the basics of dealing with a bleeder are as follows:

Assess for Danger
Introduce yourself "Hi. I'm Gaz, a First Aider with St John"
Ask what's wrong (Chief Complaint) "What's wrong?"
"I have a knife wound on my fore-arm" (For instances)
Ok, do you mind if I have a look?
Expose the wound
Examine the wound
At this point, we're just a passer-by, we have no kit etc.
Once you know what the wound is like, and that it has no foreign object in it, as the Patient to apply direct pressure to it, and elevate it.
Once it has been assessed, treat for shock (unless it's minor and only needs a plaster)
Lay or sit them on the floor and keep the wound elevated.
This is where you can seek help. Ask somebody to ring for an Ambulance, and to bring a First Aid Kit back with them if they find one.
If they find a kit, treat and dress the wound.
Now, while you're waiting for an Ambulance, carry out a secondary survey and ask questions.
Signs and symptoms: That'll be the gushing wound.
Allergies: Are they allergic to anything? They may have an allergy to plasters or latex for instance.
Medication: Are they on any medication? What's it for? They may be taking blood thinning tablets!
Past medical history: Not much use on a bleeder, but they may self harm?
Last time they ate: It may seem like nothing, but could be a vital piece on information for further care.
Events leading up to the incident: Did they pass out?

So to simplify it,

Assess for danger
Introduce yourself
Ask what the problem is
Expose the wound
Examine the wound
Apply direct pressure
Elevate
Treat for shock
Seek help
Treat and dress the wound
Carry out a secondary survey
Ask questions (S.A.M.P.L.E.)

It may not seem like much, but it could be invaluable help to a given situation.

Thanks Niel, you make learning enjoyable.

First time as a 'Johnnie'

So tonight was my first time as an Event First Aider with St John Ambulance.

The venue: Valley Parade
The match: Bradford City vs Bristol Rovers

I guess people will be thinking I chose it so I can get a free ticket to the match, which actually can't be any further from the truth.
In all honesty, I have no interest in football in the slightest, and I personally think that a vast majority of fans are druken louts and people out looking for a fight.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that there are also a high number of families and 'normal' people etc that attend matches, but that's just my view.

So why did I choose this over Bradford Bulls (my prefered ball sport)?
Well the answer is simple. First and foremost so I can concentrate on St John duties. Despite being a volunteer, I am employed by them on this duty to provide First Aid cover, and I shall do so to the best if my [little] ability.  Secondly, I knew it was going to be a good place to learn.

So, was I scared? Well not scared, more anxious. I've always been a pretty private person so being around groups I don't know isn't too high on my list of things to do on a Tuesday evening. I guess being in a high vis jacket in the middle of 10,600 people is a good way to learn how to deal with strange people though?

I got there at 17:30, as instructed, and met up with Claudia (My units assistant leader) She took me down to a room where there were a few other First Aiders waiting. People kept turning up, includig the Paramedics etc. I stood back letting people get on with what they were doing. No point getting in the way now is there?

At approximately 19:00 one of the lads gave me a quick guided tour of the place. When we went in the pre match briefing was going on.
Everybody was being told their posts wtc, I was to be in the First Aid post, the room we were in.

Everybody went out to their posts for the start if the match, I stayed listening to the radios.

NOTHING happened all bloody night!
One of the players got stretchered off (I think his nail polish chipped haha) and I saved a disabled mans life by giving a steward a blanket for the guys legs. (Ok, so he wouldn't have died, bit he might have got bloody cold!)

Teams came in and out for their breaks. Amanda, who was the First Aider at my post, kept the brews coming to warm the teams up (and what a mighty fine brew she makes) and the night went without a hitch.

So was there any need to be anxious? Not really. I stayed out of the way and let people het on with what they had to do. When they had a gap in proceedings they made the effort to chat, which was nice.

The Duty Organiser (Mark) was very helpful, and said he'll get me out and about next week, so I'm looking forward to that. Im also looking forward to going on more duties too.

Oh aye, the match. Although I'm no fan of football, it was quite interesting seeing twenty odd pretty boys playing keepy uppy on a big, well lit field. Occasionally they lost their ball in the back of this big net thingy. The crowd seemed to like it though, cos they always cheered when it went in.

Bradford City 5 - Bristol Rovers 1