A group of paddlers from RCC recently attended a 2-day Wilderness First Aid Course delivered by Kevin Mann, which proved informative and surprisingly fun! The course was specifically designed for incidents in remote areas, which is invaluable considering many of the rivers that the club paddles are miles from mobile phone signal.
The first day covered the basics, including priorities of treatment, primary and secondary assessment, resuscitation and airway obstruction. We also learnt how to treat common paddling injuries such as bleeds and fractures. The second day was spent mostly outside covering possible riverbank scenarios including evacuation techniques.
The course is recognised by British Canoeing, making it a suitable prerequisite for coaching qualifications. Refer to the RCC Map for Training & Coaching for more information. The course exceeds the recommendations for the HSE recognised Emergency First Aid at Work course meaning that the skills and knowledge acquired are also useful off the river.
Thanks to Clarissa Horliczenko for organising the trip and Rheka Bhalla for arranging the all-important refreshments. Keep an eye out for details of any upcoming courses in NFC…
