Learning to cope in a medical emergency

St John Ambulance has launched one of its biggest campaigns for 15 years to get more of the public to learn first aid.

The charity launched it’s “Be the Difference” campaign this week. It focuses on five common situations where first aid could make a difference between a life saved and a life lost.

It is offering free pocket-sized first-aid guides following a survey which found that two out of three people would not feel confident trying to save a life, and one in four would do nothing and wait for an ambulance or hope that a passer-by knew first aid.

The card tells people what to do for severe bleeding, choking, heart attack, or if someone is unconscious or not breathing.

The cards are available online at www.sja.org.uk  or by calling 08700 10 49 50.

Reporter Marina Berry asked a number of Oldhamers if they would know what to do in an emergency.

Jennifer Nuttall, from Greenfield, is a former dental hygienist, and had some first-aid training during her working life.

She agreed that learning basic first-aid skills was a good idea, but said that now she was retired she was enjoying her freedom and was loathe to take on extra commitments.

“I could do CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation, an emergency procedure used to revive people who may have stopped breathing or whose heart may have stopped beating) at one time, but I am so out of practice — people don’t fall down in front of you all the time,” she said.

“I think I could probably do it at a pinch, especially if it was one of my own.”

Antoinette Davis, admitted it was probably time she brushed up on her first-aid skills, particularly as the grandmother of two-year-old Lyla Wilde.

She said: “I did a first-aid course a few years ago, but I wouldn’t totally remember what to do in an emergency.” She added it was a good idea for people to refresh their first-aid skills.

Pat Shaw saw her fair share of injuries through her work in a school before she retired this year, and said basic first aid should be compulsory. She believes young people would benefit if it were taught in schools.

She used her first-aid skills many times, including helping a child with a badly broken arm, and an elderly woman who collapsed outside the school.

She admitted: “I did panic a bit, but it would have been much worse if I hadn’t had any first-aid knowledge. I think I would still remember what to do in an emergency.”

Delph man Mike Cordingley has never had any first-aid training, blaming a busy working life of 16 hours a day for not having time to sign up for a course.

“It sounds ridiculous and I know it’s no excuse,” he admitted. “I retired 10 years ago and I still haven’t found the time to do it, I’m even busier now.”

Mr Cordingley had many occasions where he could have helped had he had first-aid skills.

“I used to work on breakdown services and many a time we would get to an accident before the ambulance, but I always thought I would leave it to the people who knew what they were doing,” he said.

“I think first aid and financial education should both be taught in schools. They should scrub out some of the stuff they teach and put some real issues in there instead.”

The manager of Uppermill’s Stepping Stones private nursery, Stacey Crowther, has an up-to-date first-aid certificate for her job.

She said she wouldn’t have learned first-aid skills if she hadn’t needed them for work, but taking the course has given her the confidence to deal with illness and injury.

She added that having realised the importance of first aid, she will continue to refresh her skills on a regular basis.

Her colleague Bridie McManus, learned first aid while at college on a childcare course and said she too liked the confidence it gave her.

She said she would like to see first aid training as compulsory, to help people like her two brothers.

They have no first-aid skills, and work in potentially dangerous areas — one is in engineering and the other works with machinery.

Another person who did first-aid training long ago but has not kept up with refresher courses is Christine Whitworth.

She said her skills had been lost with time, but said people should know what to do in an emergency.

“Courses are not always available, unless you go through work,” she added.