Primary School in Oldham, all prepared for new students.

Today, Allan delivered an in-depth Emergency First Aid at Work course at Holy Trinity Primary School in Oldham. It was a productive day, with 24 staff members participating in two separate sessions.

Allan began the course by covering a range of illnesses that could impact both adults and children, including meningitis, asthma, epilepsy, and diabetes. He provided crucial advice on the safe administration and storage of medication within the school setting. The staff then had the opportunity to practice bandaging techniques using Allan’s well-known training props, which included various heads, arms, and legs. He also introduced a simple “no-touch” method for applying a triangular bandage as a sling, making it easy to manage in real-life scenarios.

The course continued with hands-on activities, where staff conducted casualty evaluations by checking each other over and placing one another into a safe airway position. They then moved on to practising CPR on Allan’s extensive range of dummies, which included models of adult males, females, children, and babies, as well as bariatric dummies and those designed to measure the depth of chest compressions.

Recognising the importance of being prepared for any situation, Allan brought along a variety of defibrillators for the staff to explore. With six different types to experiment with, the staff gained valuable experience in handling this life-saving equipment. The day concluded with a short but important discussion on the mental health aspects of providing first aid—a topic Allan is particularly passionate about, as demonstrated by his additional offerings of mental health first aid courses.

Overall, the training equipped the staff at Holy Trinity Primary School with the skills and confidence they need to respond effectively to emergencies, ensuring a safer environment for both students and colleagues.

Some of his feedback from the day included: