Over the past 4 months St Andrews First Aid, a leading provider of first aid training, have been working with Inverclyde residents to help equip them with lifesaving skills. This pilot aims to empower communities by increasing residents' preparedness and response capabilities, particularly when dealing with injuries related to extreme temperatures. First aid has been proven to reduce the burden on both ambulance services and emergency departments[i], highlighting its value in community planning for natural hazards.

An aerial image of Inverclyde, featuring estates of red rooved houses on a green hill with the Firth of Clyde in the back ground.

A survey conducted among Inverclyde residents in 2022 revealed a strong willingness to learn first aid skills, however, this was coupled with concerns about the cost, accessibility, and relevance of first aid training. Community members could identify a wealth of incidents in the past year where first aid skills would have been helpful. The cost-of-living crisis coupled with more frequent extreme weather events poses hazards to health due to both cold and heat. In December 2022, the Scottish Ambulance Service reported taking 800 people to hospital with hypothermia[ii] and this year the Scottish Government’s climate change adaption progress report states heat-related deaths could rise from 35 a year to almost 300 by 2050[iii].

 Image show young person performing CPR on Dummy

As part of the project, The St Andrews First Aid team have been delivering specialised Resilience First Aid Courses across the Inverclyde region including in schools, where young people are being supported to gain a ‘Resilience First Aid’ qualification. The course has been designed to cover key areas that relate to weather-related hazard incidents with topics including drowning & CPR, heatstroke/dehydration, hypothermia, Injuries from slips, trips and falls, head injuries and more. 

Image shows flyer for St Andrews First Aid Conference

 

The team hope to not only equip individuals with first aid skills but to support a shift in mindset towards self-reliance and community support. By providing people with the confidence, skills, and knowledge, the initiative aims to reduce reliance on NHS services for non-emergency situations.

On Tuesday 21st of February, the St Andrews First Aid team will be hosting their ‘First Aid in a Resilient Inverclyde’ Conference with a range of speakers from the community. If you would be interested to know more about their project, you can find out more and book to attend here: https://t.co/R4vHaW5SJS

 

[i] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.607127/full

 

[ii] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64196889

 

[iii] https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-climate-change-adaptation-programme-progress-report-2023/pages/5/

 

 

 

 

First published: 15 February 2024

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