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Happy Diwali - Oshwal News
Would you know what to do
A First Aid Skills Night by the British Red Cross
On Saturday 1 st July, 40 Oshwal members from the
Northamptonshire area gathered to learn First Aid skills.
For some it was a chance to brush up on old skills and
for others it was a chance to learn something totally
new. However for whatever reason people decided to
come, for me I was just happy to see so many
enthusiastic people give up their Saturday night to learn
about something which I feel is essential for everyone to
know a little about. Unfortunately none of us know when
we can be faced with a life threatening situation and
therefore having that little bit of basic knowledge on first
aid skills, could save a life, whether it be someone in
your family, a friend or even someone walking down the
street.
We were very fortunate to have 4 members from the
Red Cross Service to facilitate this night and also Ravi
Sharma from Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue
Service to carry out some basic Gujarati interpretation.
The night started of with talking and demonstrating on
what you would do if you came across an unconscious
casualty. The principles of ‘CPR’ and rescue breaths
were shown and also how to put someone in the
recovery position. The audience were keen to learn
more and due to audience requests the same principles
were shown for children and babies too.
sliced potatoes or butter We were told the best
treatment for burns is to put nothing on them apart from
water and a sterile dressing, so next time you may get
burnt please don’t start chopping potatoes as a
treatment!
Finally the topics of Severe Bleeds, Shock and Diabetes
were looked at.
The final section of the evening was a chance to get
hands-on and have a go practising the skills that we had
just been shown. We split into small groups and had a
go practising CPR on the dummies and also had a go
practising putting on bandages and slings.
Oshwal members practising their First Aid skills
The Red Cross demonstrating CPR on
child & adult dummies
Keeping with the same topic of the heart and breathing,
the topic of choking was also covered. We then moved
on to what to do if someone was having a heart attack.
After the break, the topic of Burns was looked at. It was
a chance to explore a few old wives tales on treatments
for burns such as can you put toothpaste on burns or
Throughout this night the audience were very engaged
and asked many questions to the Red Cross staff. Many
were also keen to progress further with this taster of
First Aid and enquired about achieving a recognised
qualification in First Aid.
F
Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which
I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as
possible before handing it on to future generations.
…… George Bernard Shaw
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