Out of Curiosity what medical cover do RAFAC have in place at RIAT? Is it just AFA or are CFAV’s who are Nurses/Paramedics etc in there day jobs sought after/required
Wouldn’t mind doing it when I qualify as a para
You have to ask the question? Do they provide the medical kit, what protocols are used, and most importantly who provides the drugs required? Who provides indemnity cover? Or knowing the RAFAC you have to sort your kit drugs and cover.
there is a two part answer to this.
On the campsite in one of the bunkers there is a “medical bay” and this is manned often by professional medical staff in a CFAV role.
the provide “basic” in house first aid provision. dealing with cuts, scrapes, bumps, dirt in the eye, low level heat related injuries.
on the showground the “Peanut” (B2 hanger - see here) which is setup as a full hospital environment.
this is the medical bay for the whole show, so deals with the public, the display teams and the RAFCTE volunteers alike.
it is huge and is set up for nearly everything you could imagine.
the “peanut” is always the first port of call for first aid if on the show ground, no need to rush back to camp only to be sent back to the showground.
in terms of kit for the campsite bunker this is provided by HQAC
put simply if it is more than the expected first aid kit you’d find on a Squadron can deal with, it is off to the peanut the patient goes
no drugs are administers at the campsite medical bay, no one there is acting in a role which permits the prescribing of drugs, as no CFAV can do that regardless of the CFAVs professional skills (that isn’t to say a paramedic doesn’t travel with the patient ot the peanut and offers their professional opinion.)
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I haven’t ‘changed my tune’ at all.
If you actually read my post, ‘not a lot for the hours of work…’ refers to the items provided to the cadets - nothing to do with the financial aspects.
I still maintain that Staff & Cadets should not pay anything.
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Thank you - my bad !
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I know a lot of paramedics/nurses who won’t have anything to do with extra cover for RAFAC events as they simply aren’t covered properly and risk losing their career if found to be at fault.
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Rightly so unless the RAFAC provides the indemnity cover or they as nurses are members of the RCN even then I certainly wouldn’t go near it.
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Does anyone have any experience of arranging a day visit to RIAT, looking for some D&G on arranging tickets & coach parking.
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I can’t say I have any experience but FYI U18s are free so although they may need tickets you can “order” them without being out of pocket if the Cadets don’t turn up
(you could order 15 in the expectation it will be 2xCFAVs : 15xCadets but if only 12 Cadets turn up in the morning you’re not left out of pocket for the three tickets, chasing them for the money afterwards arguing “but i didn’t attend Sir” or the hassle of pre-payment leading up to it)
In terms of parking I have known Squadron’s attend in SOVs and park with the general public.
If with a coach I would expect the driver to follow the signage as appropriate and directed to that coach park.
not sure how much that helps but in terms of D&G i would wait to see what is released for the “experience” pillar (ie day visitor instructions) of RIAT.
They do ask that you attend in No2 uniform, and check in with “Cadet Control” at the Showground although what the success rate is in complying with these instructions (with both, but particularly the latter) is anyone’s guess
We attend and take an SOV. 2 CFAVs (or staff cadet if you have them). Charge each u18 a nominal fee to cover the tickets of the staff, transport etc. This year looks like you have to prebook (free) parking slots.
We normally attend in No2 except last year when I went in civvies due to heat.
I’ve never been told to check in with “cadet control” and frankly can’t see why we’d need to, especially if not in uniform, although last year someone accosted us as we went through the gate and tried to tell us some random “requirements” that I’m inclined to ignore as they aren’t reaponsible for us.
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Part of me thinks we’ve had all we will get via the IBN, I’ve never seen anything in previous years other than an Announcement about a week before.
I’ll reach out to the event organisers directly, have started the Coach Approval process with WHQ today
If the coach is big enough…link up with other sqns…
PM me. Might be able to help.
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Happy to chat too.
But its been a few years since I’ve done it.
I’ve had that before, got all sulky when the Officer I had running out camp basically told them to bore off. My Squadron always camped so used to attend in Squadron Polo-Shirts and shorts.
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Planning 3 Coaches for the Wing…
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Calm down money bags.
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I’ve attended in uniform before, and had several staff turn their noses up, because i was only attending on the day, and not doing the whole camp.
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Its when you find out, he’s put it on YOUR UIN…
it is because Cadets attending in uniform are seen by the Showground as one team - ie part of the volunteer crew and not two separate entities as working party and visiting party.
the working party like to know who is on site so if something goes wrong and they get a call it isn’t a surprise to find out 123 unit is onsite.
this would be part of the larger RAFAC RIAT RA.
I know it sounds cow-poo given day trippers have their own RAs but on the ground Cadet Control is seen as the HQ for all RAFAC on site and not just those working at the show.
as such they and RIAT see Cadet Control as responsible and will be Cadet Control who will be made to put right anything that goes wrong.
I am sure our wing share a brief from the RIAT team about attending in uniform, checking in with Cadet control and a few other basic instructions.
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