Hi guys

Just a bit of advice please. My hockey club is running a weekend charity tournament and is looking at first aid facilities etc etc.



Would the club be ok to run this themselves utilising existing members with FAAW quals? I would also be in attendance with my FPOS(I) qual an AED, O2 and Entonox.

There was talk about using the VAS but I am not a big fan of hat idea.



Any pointers would be very helpful.



Cheers.

We are talking about 1 pitch being in constant use with approx 200 ish attendees.

I understand that FAAW is not the be all and end all but.....if the risk assessment decides that the types of injuries likely to be seen (bumps, sprains and strains) then why not?

I have played hockey for nearly 20 years and have never seen anything more than an injury requiring a few stitches.



When the St John brigade (over VAS available) come to the party and mince around with their trauma bumbags what level of qualification are they?



Are we talking EMT, ECA, PARA, NURSE, DOCTOR, PHYSIO.



We also have a small equipment store which I am sure we could stuff somebody in for treatment.

JonAcc



Many thanks for your replies, you are 100% correct about not cutting corners.



If this was a high risk activity with 1000's of people attending I wouldnt even dream of taking the lead or offering assistance.

I will defiantly get somebody to look into the insurance aspect.

And just to add a further note, along with TLC re the dig at St John Ambulance.



With the latest way of training/teaching within the service, every person in the SJA is graded as either TFA - Trainee First AIder, FA - First AIder, AFA - Advanced First Aider, PTA - Pateient Transport Attendant and ETA - Emergency Transport Attendant. So now you know what you are getting when you use them. In addition, a lot of my colleagues are Nurses, EMTS and some hold IHCD qualifications (although not allowed to use them under the SJA rules).



So please stop knocking the VAS, we do a valuable service and are trained to do so.



PS, I also work at events for a private company, enhancing my skills and knowledge.

Firstly

To TLC, Rocker Billy, Speckles and any other member of the SJA I apologise for my previous comments, I have no doubt that as is the normal nowdays that those individuals at the coal face are providing a great service.



I have taken on board some of the comments but still have issues and concerns which I will now discuss.



TLC, I appreciate that the SJA contributes in a crisis but so do many other agencies and individuals who also offer this service for free.

I think my main gripe is with "living off of reputation" from bygone days, maybe I am just a little bit jealous that I cannot get people to work for me for free whilst I charge the company for a service.



In my opinion St John are very clever at blurring the boundaries between the charitable activities and their commercial enterprises like event first aid and the first aid training department which are both registered Ltd companies.



Rocker billy has stated the different levels of service within SJA and says you know what you are getting when you use them, how do you know what you are getting? A first aider HSE approved is a first aider HSE approved, what is an advanced first aider? what extra training is required to achieve this status? can I add a bit onto a FAAW course (paediatrics for example) and call it advanced first aid?

I am sure their has been discussions on here before regarding different names used by different people and my opinion is that we should have standadised names so you really do know what you are getting.

If the HSE dont recognise FAAW as a suitable qualification then what do they suggest? Maybe with the demise of the HSE I will change my course titles to Advanced First Aid at Work which would then satisfy the HSE and allow my candidates to work /volunteer at events as well.



This topic was not intended as a rant about the VAS, but I am a bit riled that it is looking like we will have to pay somebody else good money to man our event because our First Aiders dont seem to have the right name on their clothing or indeed their certificates.



I also agree that some FAAW candidates are not that good, I would only use those that I have taught and know could actually do the job or those from a few select companies that I work closely with and trust.

Just found the word mincing offensive

I have had a 17 or so years with vas but have now started my own service, I have seen some good standards and people over them years, VAS training is excellent and meets all the correct standards.

I have to say that I don’t get all the different standards of first aiders ETA,PTA etc I see it as works first aiders and event first aiders guess I like things simple.

I do take the point that VAS put a charge on and it’s the staff that do it for free, however in the event of a major incident I don’t think that VAS charge, and still make the point that the emergency services use VAS because they have a structure and are reliable and can get numbers to the incident quickly, that says something to me.  

The one thing that comes out of this is that most of us want to raise the standards of first aid, staff are the number one asset in my opinion if you have poor first aiders then you have a poor service, good planning and good staff are the baseline of a quality service.

Finally I hope that you are all enjoying the hot weather but keep safe with your sun screen

Hey Marty.



Just a further update for you, St John Amb do not work with FAW anymore. The only time the members in my division have to have a FAW qual is if they want to volunteer for the football matches, something about FA requirement and HSE. Every member is now trained in first aid at set levels and in each stage, has to 'practice' those skills at events etc, for a minimum of 6 months. Also, all volunteers are constantly assessed to meet the requirments of their current status, so any shortcomings can be picked up and dealt with. The aim being, with constant teaching of skills, all will become Advanced First Aiders and passing those skills on to the FAs and TFAs.



In this way you can, prior to the event, contact the SJA and ascertain what is needed for the job eg 1 AFA in charge with 5 First aiders, the range of skills required and met.



I also wasn't keen on the phrase 'mincing around'.



I also agree with JonAcc in that even those with the title 'Nurse' cannot be trusted. One of my colleagues, maybe brilliant in the op theatre, but absolutely useless at events etc, even though that person has a FAW cert as well.



One thing, I give my time freely to the SJA as they have taught me FAW, AED, Med Gasses and others, at no cost to me, so I think I should give something back in return, my reasoning only, everyone else might have other reasons.

Well responded Louise



Last week, sitting in the Medical Centre at the County Cricket Ground. Old boy comes in and starts this long tale about this swelling he has got. He has been to see the GP, who has referred him to see a Consultant and he has an appointment this week. But he thought he would just pop in and see if we could sort it and save him going to the hospital! didn't know whether we should be overwhelmed by his faith in our Medical Centre there, or whether to be overwhelmed by the lack of perception by members of the public!