first aid courses

High Peak Wilderness First Aid Expedition Leader Courses

The High Peak Wilderness First Aid Expedition Leader courses are held every month throughout the year and can be taken in a modular format.  High Peak Wilderness First Aid 16hrs (Module 1 and 2) are suitable for national governing body awards such as the Mountain Training Association, British Canoe Union and mountain biking awarding bodies.  The 16hr outdoor course is also suitable for those supervising young people on the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

For people leading expeditions overseas there is the option to attend three additional modules.  High Peak Wilderness First Aid  (Module 3) can be taken as a stand alone module or added to Modules 1 and 2.  Some of the topics covered are airway management, altitude illness and use of oxygen.  The course tutor has an MSc in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management which has enabled the development of a module on hazard awareness if visiting countries prone to natural disasters such as earthquake, flood and fire. Module 3 also incorporates the Celox and tourniquet training.

For those planning on leading expeditions to more remote wilderness areas of the world, High Peak Wilderness First Aid Expedition Leader Module 4 and Module 5 introduce new topics.  These two modules are classed as medic assist skills.  We cannot give a licence to practise some of the advanced techniques and a little knowledge can be dangerous.  However, the course enables the participant to be an extra set of hands for the medic if a problem should arise and has proved to be a life safer for some of previous participants.

All the  modules are taken at our training facility in the Peak District with practical sessions in the classroom and outside.  We have acres of wilderness terrain on our doorstep for these outdoor courses and an extensive selection of equipment to enable plenty of practise.  The modules can be taken spread out over the year or there  is the option to take all 5 modules at once.

 

 

Expedition First Aid Training

The High Peak Wilderness First Aid 40hr course has another date added to the calendar as the October course is now fully booked.  This expedition first aid training course is modular to enable participants to progress as far as required to satisfy due diligence for expedition companies, those working in hostile environments and companies who send employees who are critical to the day to day operation of a business overseas.  An employer may have undertaken a risk assessment and realised that the expedition, company or employee is at risk of an environmental hazard such as earthquake, GLOF, fire, tsunami or tornado.  At High Peak First Aid we place an emphasis on active and experiential learning using simulations or scenarios as a tool to ensure that participants are given the skills and confidence to deal with an accident, emergency, disaster or near miss in an urban, remote or hostile environment.

If you haven’t the foggiest of the difference between an accident, emergency, disaster or near miss: we can make sure you do after attending the High Peak Wilderness First Aid 40hr course.    Heinrich’s accident theory will make sense along with normal accidents…what is normal about an accident you may ask?  This first aid course starts with core competencies in basic first aid.  The basic skills matter as you will find out when we refer to the trimodal distribution of death and the platinum 10 minutes. As you progress you will be able to manage basic first aid occurrences in your workplace whether that is based in an urban, remote or hostile environment.  Regardless of where you work in the United Kingdom you still need to comply with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidelines. Reporting of accidents, COSHH and RIDDOR is common sense after you have attended this course. At High Peak First Aid we are pretty good at sneaking in the legislation that could send you to sleep. We also offer courses for clients overseas who have high standards and although not regulated by the HSE, they know and like to advertise that they adhere to the best possible safety standards.

Before you know it legislation will seem like common sense and is a small part of the course.  You will spend most of your time interacting with the Tutors who are highly qualified and experienced.  We are pretty fussy about who we employ as we expect our Tutors to work hard to impart all of their knowledge for you. As you progress on this course and you become competent at more advanced skills we never forget the basics.  The basic skills such as the primary survey, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and treatment of bleeds are what counts when an accident happens.  If you need to know when, why and how haemostatic dressings, Celox and tourniquets are needed, we can tell you, show you and have you practise.

You might be working at altitude so need to know how to recognise and treat altitude illness.  It’s not all about high altitude mountaineering: you may have a business client and be driving at altitude on the way to a factory. Attend a course with us and you will be able to recognise the symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema (HAPE) and High Altitude Cerebral Oedema (HACE).  You will be able to act fast as you will have undertaken a comprehensive risk assessment and  be carrying a first aid kit complete with drugs for altitude illness. If you are leading a group overseas and altitude illness strikes you will also know how to use oxygen, a pulse oximeter and an oxygen concentrator.

Depending on your place of work or expedition your skills may be needed to aid a medical professional in a remote environment where help is likely to be delayed.  We cannot give you a licence to practise but can ensure you have  been trained to recognised guidelines and are competent to assist a medical professional.  You will be sharing this expedition first aid training with other like minded people who have a desire to advanced their first aid training.  We hope you never need to use the skills learnt during first aid training but we know we can give you the skills to feel confident and step forward when it counts.

This course is available in the UK for individuals and for groups in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Discount Coupons Wilderness First Aid 16hrs

For visiting our new website there are a limited amount of discount coupons for the High Peak Wilderness First Aid 16hr courses.  By attending this course you receive a first aid certificate specifically for outdoor activities.  You also receive the Emergency First Aid at Work 6hr certification at no extra cost.  This EFAW also includes the use of haemostatic dressings, crush injuries, heat and cold related disorders and Lyme disease which is benefits those working in remote environments.  The course also includes instruction in the use of an Automated External Defibrillator to enable you to feel confident to use an AED if the need arose in a public place or at your place of work.  High Peak First Aid also sells AED’s and spares:  these can be seen in the online shop that will go live this week.

By attending a course with us you will also have access to discounted first aid supplies and receive our robust, waterproof wilderness first aid book and casualty card.  Most of our courses now have trained casualties to enable you to have more time to practise.  The casualties are medical students or from an amateur dramatics society to make the scenarios as realistic as possible:  feedback so far has been very positive. If you have recently booked on a course then we have discount coupons for the first aid shop that we can email to you.  The coupon code is: hpfa16web The discount coupon can be used by clicking on this link. Select the course date, go to the checkout and add your coupon.  There are limited coupons available and they expire on September 30th 2015 and can be used for any course in the future: dates are up for 2016 and at eight courses a month, mid week and every weekend there are plenty of choices.  If these coupons are used, then try our Facebook page here.

Expedition First Aid Courses

There are now five modules to the High Peak Wilderness First Aid courses.  This gives more flexibility for participants for dates and for the level of qualification needed.  Modules 1 and 2 build on the basics and lay firm foundations for Modules 3, 4 and 5.  We accept applicants on Modules 3, 4 and 5 if we can accredit prior learning (APL).  Modules 3, 4 and 5 are mainly for those who need a higher level of qualification if they are leading an overseas expedition.  The advance first aid skills on these modules give the participant the confidence and ability to assist the expedition medic if needed, providing valuable assistance when help is likely to be delayed.

 

More information can be found on the courses page.

Advanced and Expedition First Aid 2014-2015

New dates have been added to our website. We have designed our courses to be modular to enable people to attend and progress as far as needed.  The Wilderness First Aid Expedition Leader series of courses cover plenty of relevant topics for those leading expeditions overseas: in particular there are modules on Altitude, Frost Nip and Frost Bite combined with the use of Oxygen.  We also have a disaster module for those who may end up leading trips to countries such as Nepal that has a high risk of earthquake.

Progressing on to the Expedition Leader course teaches a participant good expedition Medic assist skills.  If the participants expedition medic asks the trip leader to assemble a giving set or find a 14 gauge cannula, they will be able to do so.  In difficult or demanding situation far from help these skill are an asset and can be a life saver as has been proved by previous course participants.

Lastly, if you hold a teaching qualification and are a registered Paramedic, Nurse or Doctor you may like to join our existing team to work on these courses.