Heart attack or cardiac arrest? Would your designated first aider know the difference?

First aid training is all very well, but no use at all if your designated first aider cannot remember their training when a medical emergency arises.



Barbara Cherryman is the Director at Guardian First Aid. She said that it is vital that the first aid is remembered when needed. “Whilst you are having a heart attack, it is not the time to discover that your first aiders have forgotten everything they had learned and  cannot tell the difference between a heart attack and a cardiac arrest,” she said.

Under Health & Safety Executive (HSE) regulations, most organisations require at least one person trained in first aid. Many companies receiving a compliance health check were found to be inadequately covered and non-compliance can lead to a criminal record. It  may be tempting to send people on non-accredited courses to save money, but Barbara maintains that this is false economy and could cost a company dearly if a medical incident is not dealt with correctly in the work place. In an ideal world first aid training would be free to everyone, taught by qualified teachers and be memorable and enjoyable to ensure that there would be a qualified first aider on hand in any situation who would be confident and competent in an emergency and be able to save lives.

The team at Guardian First Aid go some way to achieve this by making the teaching process informative and fun whilst getting the important messages across in a  professional way. All of the tutors hold teaching qualifications which enables them to use a variety of teaching techniques to ensure that everyone on the course understands the procedures and will remember them when needed in a medical emergency.

All first aid courses are accredited by the Health & Safety Executive and are priced to ensure that cost is not a factor when training is being considered. “I want as many people as possible to be first aid and safety aware,” said Barbara. Barbara believes that first aid is a life skill and is passionate about first aid competence in the workplace, the  community and the saving of lives. She does all that she can to make sure that every person who has attended one of her training courses remembers what to
do in a medical emergency and is confident in administering first aid.

Visit for more information www.guardianfirstaid.co.uk.