Heartstart is perfectly adequate for an urban environment as far as it goes but further afield it becomes ‘less’ relevent as injuries due to activity or environmental factors may increase. Heartstart with some added immediate actions teaching for traumatic injuries would be better.
The ACO should actually be investing in a higher level of first aid training as this translates into the everyday world.
Sadly where I live the local NHS people have educational outreach teams are going into schools and teaching trauma first aid in how to deal with knife and even gun shot wounds. The inner city wings should be pushing for better training as their cadets are more likely to become involved in giving aid.
It certainly serves its purpose well, no debate. But given the tendency of the organisation for risk-averse legislating (and thence activity limiting or at least hoop generation, plus a proclivity currently to look for excuses for closures and mergers), it does surprise me that given the content NOT included in Heartstart that it is theoretically acceptable to the organisation to only have Heartstart trained staff on a squadron.
At least, nowhere I can find in ACP 5, 20, or ACTO 8…
A sad state of affairs indeed. I think as well the inclusion of tourniquets in FAAW was in part due to a review following 7/7?
As unfortunate as it is for this to be necessary, I’m a huge advocate for first aid training regardless - better to be prepared and never use it, than need it and not be able to act.
Came out of Iraq and Afghanistan to prevent soldiers bleeding out when hit with an IED blast. They used to go into the field with three attached to themselves, one for each leg and one around an arm, The Combat Application Torniquet is a life saving piece of kit in that situation and can used with one hand. You may find they were used at the Manchester Arena bombing but were not available for 7/7.
if you have a strong stomach this video will show you how good it is. Shown in use in a presentation at the Australian trauma conference about ‘unexpected survivors’ by Surgeon Commander Kate Prior from when she was a MERT Anaesthetist in Afghanistan. Will pm you the link rather than put it up here.
Undoubtedly responsible for a large number of successful casevacs in the desert. Believe vehicles were kitted out with them on the backs of seats and above doors?
I’m sure there was a link to 7/7 for inclusion for tourniquet and makeshift tourniquet training for civvies? The bus attack was right outside the BMA where there was a convention (trauma specialists, maybe?) and multiple tourniquets were applied across all sites, some by casualties on themselves.
Indeed makeshift ones were used now thankfully we have purposed designed ones.
The bus bomb as you say occured next to the BMA building and casualties taken to Great Ormand Street Hospital as the nearest available medical facility where they set up a casualy reception in the dining room. GOSH hasn’t got an A/E department like other paediatric hospitals.
Torniquets have been around since time imemorial but fell out of use because of the perceived risk to a limb by being left on too long, now we have revisited them, thankfully. Direct pressure does not work in some situations.
Got into an argument about tourniquets with someone who was only a few years out of date. Maybe only a year out of date from their last qual?
How out of touch their position was from the updated guidelines only reinforced to me how important it is to prevent skills fade and stay updated with changes.
Tourniquets are massive now. Manchester and Boston benefitted from their introduction and use too.
But, to swing it back…
Considering the relatively low risk of needing a tourniquet or haemostatic dressing being enough to introduce it into mainstream training, Heartstart being considered enough to cover the broad spectrum of cadets’ conditions and sensitivities walking through our doors seems anomalous.
I’m speaking from a HQAC climate perspective and not necessarily as a point of advocacy. Although personally I prefer to be trained and know that other staff on the unit are too.
Training and practice is essential. I’m now an outsider looking in but maybe Squadrons could run a no notice casualty simulation exercise in the middle of a parade night, do it for fire drills why not cas sims? Not difficult to think up, person ‘collapses’ or a simulated electrocution or knife injury. Keeping skills, thought processes and personal safety issues fresh.
I did throw a curveball following our last climatic injuries training - told the cadets to walk to somewhere… They all walked past their hypothermic casualty despite some spotting him, “because they thought he was meant to be there and they hadn’t started yet”.
Reminds me of the stories of the infamous ‘taceval’ bang ‘no notice’ exercise. Same idea if you are the lead in your unit for first aid training, just spring it and tell no one until it happens.
As I understand, a certain Manchester based wing ran a bombing based scenario as part of their first aid competition, a few months after the arena bombing. Without checking to see if any of the participants were present at the arena on that night (there were)…
I wonder whether tourniquets would likely become part of mainstream first aid training anyway, given the limited uses for them and the desire to keep the training as simple as practicable for the average Joe to learn.
AFA and I suspect FAAW teaches DRSABC and does not include Catastrophic bleeding - DRS-C-ABC.
I have a CAT (and instruction in its use) just in case and because it was free, though the likelihood of me needing it on an occasion where I’ve got it to hand is slim.
My FAAW had tourniquets, haemostatic dressings, and updated primary survey as of just under 3 years ago. Another staff member on the Sqn just did FAAW and covered tourniquets.
I keep a CAT in my car kit and take one on some activities. As you say, not likely to need it and I hope I never do, but the ability is there just in case - and it’s pointless having training if you aren’t prepared or able to use it.
The thing is though that most of FAAW won’t save someone’s life - after CPR, actions on heart attack/stroke/etc and choking, stopping a catastrophic bleed is one of the biggest areas in which quick intervention could be a genuine life-or-death thing.
The Advanced Life Support Course is changing slowly from ABCDE TO C/ABCDE in that with catastrophic haemorrhage whilst you may pump on the chest it is useless if the circulatory volume is on the floor beside you, in other words control the haemorrhage first.
I’m interested to hear that you FAAW included such. I wouldn’t have thought it’s a particularly common inclusion is it?
I agree. I’m quite sure I could use my CAT if I needed to… However the times that I carry my more comprehensive kit in which it lives are generally low risk activities; the most likely occasion for needing the CAT might be some knife-wielding yobbo in the street or god-forbid, a terrorist incident… and it’s not the sort of thing that I routinely carry around in the back pocket of my jeans.
