First Aid for Stalkers

willie_gunn

Well-Known Member
Just a quick note to thank Joe, Mark, and all at Stalking in England for the excellent First Aid for Stalkers course that they laid on this last weekend. Thanks as well to all the other attendees for making it such a useful and enjoyable weekend.

Without wishing to reprise the whole recent thread on Stalkers first aid, suffice to say that I think we'd all agree that anyone heading out into the wilds - even the wilds of Oxfordshire - should have at least a rudimentary knowledge of first aid that they can administer both to themselves and to their stalking colleagues.

I have always viewed first aid training as a bit like insurance - I hope to God I never need it but it's nice knowing that you've got it. For both work and personal reasons I've previously completed the regular "Emergency First Aid At Work" training with the Red Cross and St John's Ambulance, but I've also been aware that the EFAW training only goes so far. In almost 20 years of stalking and game shooting I've been fortunate never to have encountered anything more serious myself than some knife cuts, strains and bruising, but I have seen two members of the shoot have heart trouble requiring hospital treatment and one beater get comprehensively trampled by cows, resulting in full blues and twos through the Oxfordshire countryside!

But when you're guiding clients, some of (shall we say) advanced years, you realise that becoming a bit more familiar with current first aid procedures is no bad thing. Add on to that some stalking in pretty remote areas and taking a stalking-related first aid course becomes a lot more compelling.

The curriculum of the course that Joe delivers covers both QCF Level 2 (England, Wales & Ireland) as well as SQCF Level 5 (Scotland). So basically you come away with a recognised qualification that will actually mean something at work. Personally I viewed that as a "nice to have", rather than the reason for attending, as I was more interested in the stalking-specific aspects of the course. For some, however, that qualification could itself mean gaining a lease that otherwise would have been unavailable.

Joe's experience on the practical side of things as it relates to the injuries we are likely to see or encounter out stalking and shooting is, I think, one of the real plus points of the course. As well as the "been there, done that" experience covering both civilian and military environments, Joe's tuition provided practical, pragmatic and engaging examples of how this could be applied to our stalking and shooting activities. As a simple example, on the Sunday we were tasked with considering how you'd deliver CPR to someone in a high seat and how you could get them down without causing further injury to either the patient or the first aid practitioner. I realise that, for some, knowing what to do when someone has a heart attack isn't quite as "glamorous" as a sucking chest wound or arterial bleeding, but the reality is that we are far more likely to encounter the former than the latter! That said, we comprehensively covered the more photogenic side of things as well ;)

When it comes to your stalking first aid kit, Moray Outfitting made the very valid point in a recent thread that you should understand for each item:

1. What it's for
2. Do I know how to use it
3. Do I know when to use it
4. Do I know the pro's and cons
5. Do I know why I'm carrying it
6. Am I prepared to take responsibility for my choice.

I'd certainly feel comfortable answering "yes" to each of those questions now.....and that's exactly what I was looking for.

As this was the first time the course had been run, Joe ran a critique session during the last 45 minutes. I wish every course took the opportunity to do this, as the feedback from both tutor and attendees can prove invaluable in helping the course itself to evolve. With different attendees with different levels of experience it is always going to be difficult to find the "happy medium", but we all agreed that we had gained useful knowledge and insight from the course.

The hospitality and craic of the Stalking in England team goes without saying - we must have made at least a small dent in the boar pate :D

All in all, a big thumbs-up for the course :thumb: and thanks again to all involved.

willie_gunn
 
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Thank you very much for that. It did go well l think and and we are very happy with the response from our guests. Glad you enjoyed the pate, yea you did make a dent in it but thers plenty more fore the next course:D

regards
​Mark
 
Having been one of the other course participants I would like to fully endorse the Post from Willie_Gunn, and also add my thanks to Aviating Joe - our excellent instructor, and to Mark, and the lads from Stalking In England, for the hospitality shown to us. Especially the wild boar pate.... Fabulous!!

From my perspective of having had no prior training at all, I am now more confident in the application of Emergency First Aid techniques, the assessment of what could be wrong with the casualty, and the practicalities of doing the right thing in the right way. 48 hours ago, it would have been a `lets take a punt, and hope it works` attitude......... So to come from no knowledge, to a understandable / practicle / workable knowledge, for me is a real result, and having it put across by somebody, who does it day in - day out for a living, with all the analogies, stories, and practical application of when you don`t have a `Gucci` scenario to work with, was more understandable than an instructor, who has just been trained to cover the coursework.

I have come away armed with what would work in a basic First Aid kit, and small additional pieces of kit that could make a difference by being included - but will not cost the earth to invest in. More importantly I would know how to use that kit if required.

So thanks again Joe, and Mark, for the time and effort taken to set this course up, it was really excellent, and I wish you well for the future course, as they can only develop from here.

Best Regards.

Neil.
 
I too attended the course and would echo what others have said.
Excellent banter with great company in like a minded group of guys, with bog trips being some what of a gauntlet.:)

Without starting the whole debate again certainly up to this weekend I’d be the guy who went and got help, or phoned the ambulance, put my jacket over and that’s probably about it.

By being shown what, why and how to administer a basic level of care I feel much better about myself and knowing I can use it in context to not only my hobby, but in real life.
I couldn’t forgive myself if one of my stalking mates took a tumble, had an injury, fell ill or I found him unconscious etc or if I was out with a member on here and they suddenly came a cropper while stalking and I simply watched, not knowing what to do. We owe it to our self’s to take the initiative and learn some form of life supporting techniques that could potentially one day safe a life.

Should any of us ever be faced with a situation to use it to save your mate, a family member or a complete strangers life, AND YOUR OWN then it’s surely worth it guys it could prove the difference between life and death, and if you’ve tried, I’m sure it’s worth it regardless of the outcome.
A pleasure to be in all of your company and a thank you.
 
:tiphat: to those who posted about the course and not least Stalking England for getting it together.

Dont panic, not going to go off on an ' Andy monologue'! But these courses are notoriously difficult to get off the ground let alone format. The feedback indicates you done good!
 
Glad to know you all enjoyed it but most of all found it useful.

Fingers crossed you never need to use your new/refreshed skills.


Until next time, it's been a pleasure :)
 
Joe

Glad to see your day went well.

When you have you own courses arranged (i.e. no spurious 3rd party fee's) please PM me the details.

I'm happy to provide my own pate`;)
 
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