Tag: medical

Thieves Break into Ambulance in Devizes

Devizes-based event medical company, GWP reported their rapid response vehicle was broken into over the weekend, and approximately £1,000 worth of vital lifesaving equipment and uniform was stolen.…

We make a point of avoiding local news items, rather concentrate on feelgood magazine stories. Leave the hard work and nitty-gritty to Newsquest I say!

But sometimes occurrences come along, such as this, which beggars belief at the audacity and sheer stupidity of some. So, if I am to report on a news item, I reserve my prerogative to cast an opinion, without justification, and today that is directed to the perpetrators of this crime; You. Stole. From. An. Ambulance, for crying out loud, I urge you to read that back to yourself and pray you never need the use of one yourself.

GWP ask the public to please look out for anyone offering kit or uniform, and if anyone has CCTV footage of New Park Street Devizes, they would be very grateful if you could get in touch.

Last weekend the company
provided medical provisions for Midsomer Norton Town Council’s Christmas light switch on, followed by Bradford on Avon Town Council, and a dance event by Oxford County Council. They also start a month-long worth of provisions for Stourhead National Trust and Forest Green Rovers Football Club.

GWP said “they’ve taken about £1000 worth of equipment, but more worryingly is the paramedic marked uniform.”

At first I figured it was just for money, and hadn’t even contemplated the security issues of potentially posing as medical staff. GWP replied, “equipment like the defibrillator is worth money, but yes, posing as medical staff is a big security concern. Especially after last month, someone pretending to be a nurse from the local GP surgery, St James, was uncovered.”

We hope the thieves can be found as soon as possible, and give our support and gratitude to the staff of GWP.

Today though, staff are trying to focus on the positives, showing the new branding added to their ambulance, by local graphics company Kennet Sign & Display, ready to go to Forest Green Rovers Football Club; keep up the great work!

Worsley Training Brings First Aid Course to Devizes Corn Exchange

The last first aid course I attended was quite some time ago, in plain old Wotton Bassett prior to the added Royal in their name, that’s how long ago it was. But did I learn anything from it, and do I remember any of it? Well, yeah, took some of it in, but, you know, it takes confidence to carry out first aid in an emergency, and refresher courses are essential.

Owner of Upavon’s Worsley Training, Louise Worsley, is a professional teacher with over ten years’ experience in the classroom, and over fifteen years of hands-on First Aid experience. With an instinctive ability to make learning First Aid memorable and enjoyable, she draws from this teaching to bring First Aid to life for participants, providing practical training grounded in realistic examples of how the techniques could be used.

Qualified through and regulated by Remote Emergency Care, Nuco Training and ProTrainings, Louise brings her “Emergency First Aid at Work or Basic Life Support course,” to Devizes Corn Exchange on Tuesday 10th November. 

The course includes basic first aid, including the use of a defibrillator, for personal confidence, or a small business owner who needs the full 1-day accredited certificate to fulfil service to clients.

“I am planning to run the 4-hour emergency course concurrently with the full 6-hour accredited Emergency First Aid at Work,” Louise explained, “as the initial content is the same and then you can choose to stay on to cover the more everyday situations.”

The course will mix theoretical and practical learning and assessment, and the accredited certificate lasts for three years.

The cost per person including a manual and certificate is:

– 4-hour non-accredited basic life support £50

– 4-hour accredited basic life support £55

– 6-hour accredited emergency first aid at work £70

One question I wanted to ask Louise, as it’s bound to be a concern, being a first aid course is very hands on and practical, often involving close contact, how does she get over these obstacles in order to align it to current restrictions.

“Of course!” Louise replied, “I’ve been classroom teaching again since 15th June with these adaptations, when the covid level went from 4 to 3, so we were allowed to teach again, (click for Worsley’s COVID-19 Classroom Control Measures) and everyone has been really happy! Plus, the rule of 6 is excluded for work education and training.”

Louise will use the Ceres Hall, for this course, so at 90sq/m there’s plenty of space to socially distance.

So, is Louise a doctor? “No, I’m a teacher,” she explained, “This is one of the most common questions I get asked, when I say what I do. The assumption that you need to be a medical professional to be a first aid trainer is highly misleading.”

“Primarily because first aiders need to assess everything but diagnose very little. We gather all the information on levels of consciousness, breathing rates, sources of pain etc, and then pass that onto the doctors to establish exactly what is wrong. If immediate treatment is required e.g. for choking or using a defibrillator then we can step forward, but most of the time it is not that obvious.”

“Secondly, a medical degree is very different from a teaching degree. As a trainer you need to know how to present information so that the learners understand and memorise it regardless of the subject. Sadly, there are many first aid trainers out there who lack these vital teaching skills, even though their medical knowledge is way more advanced than what their learners need.”

“So, I am proud to say I am a qualified, experienced teacher, who also has plenty of hands-on first aid experience from over 8 years of leading adventurous expeditions overseas and more recently as a parent.”

Book your place on this first aid course, or for more information, click here.