Do you know do you treat a diabetic? What is the ratio of compressions to breath in CPR? Who do you call when your child has eaten something poisonous? If you have done a St Johns first aid course, you will know the answers to these questions and more!
This year, Matt very kindly organised for club members to be taken through the well-respected first aid training delivered by St Johns. These kinds of courses can cost between $200 to $300 per person, however the club was heavily subsidising this course for its members, as the club believes first aid training is a valuable skill for punters, so we only had to contribute $45 each – bargain!
The course was run over two days at Camp Wainui in Wainuiomata. Our instructor took us through the basic approach to an injured person – DRSABCD, as well as practising CPR, covering common types of medical conditions and trauma, and even having us act out some scenarios where we had to deliver first aid to each other. The course was tailored to the kinds of events that might happen in the bush, and we focused on treating our patients with the things we would normally carry in our tramping packs. It was all very useful, and lots of fun. I particularly enjoyed playing the patient (a child who had eaten some poisonous berries AND who had managed to slice her arm open at the same time!) and making nee-naw nee-naw ambulance sounds as we ran to find our patients in the bush!
The Club offers many opportunities for outdoor-lovers to upskill themselves. There is bushcraft, snowcraft, leadership training, a scholarship fund for other types of skills, and of course, first aid. If you are interested in any of these, get in touch with the people who run them to find out more. For first aid in particular, let the Chief Guide know. If enough people put their hand up, we will run another course soon! Our group definitely felt more confident delivering first aid after the course. In fact Tash put up this poster and volunteered to be a first aider at her work – go Tash!
