Brookvale First Aid

01/07/2025

26/06/2025

Great session today.

We were thrilled to welcome members of The Stratford Society for first aid training as they prepare for the exciting opening of the new Stratford Heritage Museum! 🏛️

The museum will open its doors to the public at Harvard House from next week, a huge well done to everyone involved for their dedication and hard work in bringing this fantastic addition to our town to life! 👏✨

19/06/2025

☀️ HOT WEATHER SAFETY – KNOW THE SIGNS ☀️

With the temperature rising, it’s vital to stay hydrated, keep cool, and look out for signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke, especially in older people, children, and those with health conditions.

🥵 HEAT EXHAUSTION
Look out for:
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Heavy sweating
• Pale, clammy skin
• Nausea, cramps, fast pulse

👉 What to do:
✅ Move to a cool place
✅ Lie down with feet raised
✅ Sip water or rehydration drinks
✅ Cool the skin with damp cloths, spray or fan
📞 If not better in 30 mins, call 999

🔴 HEAT STROKE – CALL 999 IMMEDIATELY
This is an emergency.
Signs include:
🚫 No sweating
🌡️ Temp over 40°C
😵 Confusion or seizures
😴 Unconsciousness

While waiting for help:
🧊 Cool the person fast – with water, fans, or cold packs to neck/armpits/groin

Please check on elderly neighbours, relatives, and vulnerable people too 💛

18/06/2025

Paddling pools are a great way to have fun and cool down in the warmer weather. But it’s important to remember little ones can drown in just a few cm of water.

That’s why it’s so important to keep little children in arms reach when they’re in or around the paddling pool.

It’s also wise to empty paddling pools after use to stop children falling in accidentally or entering them unsupervised.

And, don’t forget to store or turn over your paddling pool when it’s not in use to prevent it from filling with rainwater.

02/06/2025

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is carrying out a live training exercise designed to replicate a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) Major Incident. The exercise is taking place at Warwick Hospital on Wednesday 4 June from approximately 08:45-11:45.

The exercise will include: a small number of staff wearing hazmat suits; volunteers acting as casualties; and assembling a decontamination tent close by our Emergency Department.

Carrying out such exercises is a national requirement, but it is also part of our commitment to ensuring that the Trust is as prepared as possible for any future challenges or disruptive incidents we may face.

Please be assured that there is nothing to worry about during this time and all of our services will continue to run as normal.

24/05/2025

🩹💥 First Aid Fact or Fiction? 💥🩹

Let’s play a game! Can you spot the FIRST AID MYTHS below? 🧐

Comment your guess! 👇

A) You should tilt your head back if you have a nosebleed.
😎 You can do CPR to the beat of Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees.
C) You don’t need to remove clothing (expose the chest) to use a defibrillator (AED).
D) A burn should be cooled under cool running water for 20 minutes.

Ready? Set? First Aid Fact-check! 🕵️‍♀️

✨ Bonus points if you’ve ever taken a first aid course! Tag your lifesaver buddies! 🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️

15/05/2025

A reminder not just during Mental Health Awareness Week, but every day!

14/05/2025

Stay Hydrated 💦

Sun’s out — but don’t let the heat catch you off guard.

Top tips:
✔️ Drink water
✔️ Avoid the hottest part of the day
✔️ Apply sunscreen
✔️ Look out for others

Stay safe: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/heatwave-how-to-cope-in-hot-weather/

12/05/2025

🌿 It’s Mental Health Awareness Week – Let’s Make Conversations Count 🌿

This week is all about breaking stigma and opening up honest conversations around mental health. One in four of us will experience a mental health issue each year, yet many people still feel unsure how to offer help, or even where to start.

That’s why I’m proud to offer Mental Wellbeing First Aid training. These interactive, empowering courses are designed to help individuals and organisations:

💙 Spot the signs of common mental health issues
💚 Offer support and reassurance in a crisis
❤️ Build a more compassionate, resilient workplace

Whether you’re a manager, team member, educator, or volunteer – mental health first aid skills are life-changing.

Let’s create communities where it’s OK not to be OK, and where support is always close at hand.

Want to know more about in-person or online training options? Drop me a message at gill@brookvalefirstaid.co.uk

11/05/2025

How to Help Someone Having a Panic Attack

Panic attacks can come on suddenly and feel overwhelming, for the person experiencing one and for those around them. If you’re with someone who’s having a panic attack, here’s how you can help:

1. Stay calm and present. Your calmness can help ground them. Speak slowly and gently.

2. Reassure them. Let them know they’re safe, that it’s a panic attack, and it will pass.

3. Encourage slow breathing. Breathe with them: in through the nose for 5, hold for 5, out through the mouth for 5.

4. Offer grounding techniques. Ask them to name 5 things they can see, 4 they can touch, 3 they can hear, 2 they can smell, 1 they can taste.

5. Stay with them. Don’t leave unless they ask you to. Give them time and space to recover.

You don’t have to be an expert to make a difference, just being kind, patient and present can mean the world.

04/05/2025

May the 4th Be With You… and Your First Aid Skills!

Whether you’re dodging Sith Lords or just navigating everyday life, knowing First Aid is the real Force to master!

Because even Jedi get bumps, scrapes, and the occasional lightsaber mishap…

Would Luke have made it without someone knowing how to treat frostbite on Hoth?

Could Leia have led the Rebellion without knowing how to manage stress and stay calm under pressure?

And let’s face it, CPR isn’t just for the droids among us!

Fun fact: The Imperial March (yes, Darth Vader’s theme) plays at 104 beats per minute, an ideal tempo to hum while performing chest compressions.

So this May the 4th, join the light side of preparedness:

Learn First Aid. Save lives. Be the hero in your galaxy.

23/04/2025

“Alas, poor Yorick… he really should’ve known the recovery position.”

On Shakespeare’s birthday, we’re mixing the Bard with some bandages! 🥳 🤕

From “Out, damned spot!” (a classic stain from fake stage blood) to “Is this a defib I see before me?”, we like to think even Will would agree, knowing first aid is pure poetry in motion.

And when hearts falter, remember:
“Lend me thy hand…”
…to place it centre of the chest and push hard and fast, with 30 chest compressions followed by 2 rescue breath, because love isn’t the only thing that makes hearts beat. 🥰

Whether it’s a swoon, a fall, or a duel gone wrong ⚔️ (looking at you, Romeo), a little training goes a long way. Learn CPR. Save lives. Keep the drama on stage. 🎭