Basic first aid is essential in all aspects of our lives as you never know when your skills may be required to help yourself, a family member, a friend, a colleague or a stranger.

What is first aid?

First aid is the initial response given to a person who has suffered an injury and the aim is to minimise the damage or risk to the individual and preserve their life. First aid training aims to provide people with the knowledge they need to act with confidence when faced with a medical emergency or injury, so that they can support the injured person until help arrives or until they can get them to medical help if required.

Why is first aid important?

As the first line of assistance, first aid can make a real difference in saving a person’s life or impacting the outcome for that person. For example, it can involve resuscitating the person and getting them breathing again, or stemming the bleeding so that the person doesn’t bleed out in extreme cases.

In more common cases the first aider is someone who helps calm the situation and applies triage, then helps to direct the person to where they can get further assistance if needed. This however is still a very important role and can be essential and memorable to the injured person.

Many situations also require first aid trained people such as in the workplace and at events, so it can be a really useful skill to learn. There are also different types of first aid as there are specialist courses for children and babies for example.

The key parts of first aid

There are many parts of first aid to learn that can help a person in need these include:

• Being able to check the ABC (airway, breathing and circulation) of an unconscious person and put them in the recovery position
• Administering CPR
• Preventing bleeding and temporarily dressing wounds
• Treating burns and scalds
• Identifying and helping someone with a heart attack or stroke
• Dealing with breaks and sprains
• How to deal with someone who is choking
• Knowing when to seek professional help and who to contact

Where to get first aid training

If you feel like you could benefit from learning first aid training or need to brush up on your first aid skills then you are in the right place as we offer a range of first aid courses that meet different needs.