Grant wants to provide some serious 1st aid training at Ripley June 2011. Perhaps 2 days training. I'll act as go-between to save Grant, Susan and Glynn their time.

Let's have ideas then as to:

1) What training people would want or think others would benefit from?
This is an opportunity for us to have a bespoke course way above that available locally to us.

2) What ratio of pupil to instructor would you be happy with?

Supplier and costs etc can be sorted out later. I've heard of "First at scene" and other courses but we intend to provide a course made to measure for us, so outline content or areas of concern please.

Ciao, Lindsay.

I'm sure seasoned travellers may have other views, but as a relative newbie to distance overseas touring etc the biggest issue I think I will face is the fact that I'll probably be on my own when I go down.

I am a trained first aider in the UK of over 25 years experience, and have done the 'first on scene', but both are designed primarily as triage courses to stabilise the casualty until help arrives.

For many on here you may have to treat yourself, and that is a completely different matter, especially in the wilds where help isn't necessarily close by. So self-treatment advice would be useful maybe?

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A very good point made. I think the course should cover most life threatening situations and be aimed to help solo riders as well as, say, the married couples, otherwise on their own. Heart attack, stroke and as far as possible what I expect ambulance crews are trained to do. I fully realize they get much more than two days of training but you get the meaning I'm sure. I've found one company which seems ideal and am just waiting to see if they're interested and on what basis. I hope very much to offer what many of us seek at this convenient meeting. Lindsay.

Sorry Linzi,

the one important thing I missed from my earlier post was how to deal with food poisoning / stomach upsets etc. Very debilitating in the wrong environment, and doubly so if you are alone.

Phil

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Live life now - you only get it once.

Hi Phil, I've been in contact with Chris, 4WD moderator, and he's able to help putting this together. We'll offer at Ripley what none of us can get locally. This only makes sense. In general, it will be a couple of hours am and pm on Sat and Sun. Any more would detract from the meeting for the students. This will only be the basics but will involve stabilizing the patient and stopping blood loss. Much more in the time available isn't practical. Such training would not be available elsewhere in UK due to legal limits and such, but it is exactly what we all need .
It is then possible to get other value for money training with the British Red Cross in particular and this can cover things such as food poisoning, eye infection etc.
A further massively important supplier of training is Wilderness Medical Training: Foundation + Advanced Courses + Events For Medics. I understand their "Far From Help" courses are exceptionally good but too full-on and time consuming for Ripley.
Anyone setting off alone on a long trip would be well trained with all three. The Red Cross and other 1st aid courses tend to focus on bandage technique while we'll deal more with the practicalities of a crash and its aftermath. Once, while alone, I broke my hip and no 1st aid certificate would have helped there. We'll cover that type of situation. And no, we'll not be asking for a volunteer! Lindsay.

Always a good subject even if you never end up going on a " big trip "....its one of those areas of knowledge that can prove useful in every day life.

Maybe a Split lesson?

Health and Hygiene on the road

How to treat or deal with ailments that you pickup on the trip that are not classed as immediate first aid, but need attention to prevent further problems.

Treatment of infected sores/cuts and grazes...athletes foot...tooth problems....stomach upsets....sunburn....sweat rash...thrush..etc

Water management ( puri-tabs ) self hygiene in relation to health....not smelling of roses, but what can actually make you ill.




Immediate Aid/First Aid

For solo and/or accompanied riders.

Emergency measures to try and stop you expiring at the side of the road.....which really for the solo biker is most likely going to be limited to bleeding and breaks and burns...if you got problems breathing or you are unconscious on your own, well you are pretty screwed anyway !

Always find that is reassuring for people learning first aid to go over the golden basics like breaths per minute and chest compressions...especially a little advice for different patients ( kids ) and stuff like clearing airways and choking.

Tips and tricks

I always carried a medical aid kit when I was in the forces and still when needed carry essentially the same kit now, and there are a few items that I swear by........that just simply work.

Some of the medical trained and experienced members will undoubtably have a great deal of input here.

Thanks for those ideas. It'll all be put to Grant for fitting into the timetable. Yes, there is a second "hygiene" type course which we could provide that is hard to find elsewhere. We'll look into it. Cheers, Lindsay.