I’m going to do my first aid certificate/course soon as a) mine expired about a decade ago, and b) it’s a good thing to have.
Reading all the posts about what happened over the weekend got me to thinking that it would be bloody useful to know more than a little bit about first aid for motorbike crashes. I remember reading that one of the guys said he wasn’t quite sure what he should and shouldn’t do for the casualty. Wouldn’t it be useful to have some basic knowledge of just that, given that we, as bikers, are quite likely to be one of the first on the scene (if it’s part of a group ride at least).
Does anyone know anything on this or am I just rambling pointlessly?
Very good idea, I would definitely be interested, I have been on a few ride outs where help has been needed and whilst waiting it would be good to know what to do and what not to do.
St Johns do First Aid for Motorcyclists but I don’t know much about it.
FBOS training is done by paramedics and on completion of the one day course you get a certificate from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. The nearest Ambulance Service that is trained to do FBOS courses is Oxfordshire IIRC. Courses are about £65 including refreshments. The cost is high because you have to pay expenses for a team of paramedics to come from wherever for a day. IIRC LB arranged an FBOS course in Oxford towards the end of 2007.
FBOS is a requirement for Unity and I know some here including the Jetstreams did FBOS when Unity arranged a course at UCL a couple of years ago when I did mine. Unity arranged a course at UCL last Sunday for people whose certificates had expired. Mine is due to expire next summer so expect another Unity run course by then.
The course is one day, and when I did it it covered -
Incident scene management
Mode of injury in motorcycle accidents
Assessing a casualty
Moving a casualty if necessary
When to safely remove a helmet, and how to do it - a two person job so lots of practice!
St John’s do it - it is motorbike specific, ‘first on scene’ and very helpful. i did mine in central London some years ago. Funnily enough, the day after the course i used my new skills on a guy who was knocked off his Fazer on Cally Road in the pouring rain… it’s a good thing to have. Q
I haven’t managed to get on one yet, but my IAM group (lam) do one occasionally.
If there’s enough interest I could ask the guy if he’s willing to put one on for lb.
Sounds like FBOS is the way to go then. I have no qualms paying £65… I view it in the same way I view giving blood… I never know when I’m going to need it back!
I wonder how many people we’d need to get an LB one run. How many people here would be interested in signing up?
I did one a couple of years back. It was basically a standard first aid course but the guy running it had tailored and added bits to be motorbike specific - including how to remove a helmet from a casualty (obviously this is not recomended but certain situations may require it).
I haven’t had to put the knowledge into practice and hope I don’t have to but it’s reassuring to know that you do know the basics just in case.
