| St Andrew's First Aid | |
|---|---|
Logo of St Andrew's First Aid |
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| Formation | 1882 |
| Type | Charitable organisation |
| Headquarters | St Andrew's House, 48 Milton Street, Glasgow, G4 0HR |
| Location | Scotland |
| Membership | 1,500[1] |
| Chairman of Council | Mr Rudy Crawford |
| Budget | £100.9m per annum[2] |
| Website | http://www.firstaid.org.uk |
St Andrew's First Aid is a first aid charity based in Scotland. Founded in 1882, St Andrew's was Scotland's first ambulance service. Now a voluntary organisation it uses the brand "St Andrew's First Aid" and seeks to preserve the lives of people in Scotland by through the provision of education and emergency first aid at events throughout Scotland.
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The St Andrew's National Headquarters is based at Cowcaddens in Glasgow. It exists to promote the teaching of first aid, supplying first aid equipment and supplies and providing event cover.[3] It achieves the latter by virtue of St Andrew's Ambulance Corps, made up of volunteers who devote their time to care for the sick and injured.[4]
In overall control is the Council of Association, which is diverse group of people including representatives from the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and Edinburgh, from the police, from hosptials as well as representatives from the Corps. Council acts to promote the aims and objectives of the Association and also has the power to raise funds, lease property and employ staff.
Council also delegates its power to a number of different entities:
St Andrew's offers a wide variety of courses to the general public and in the workplace:
Standard First Aid
This is a comprehensive 24-hour course that covers most aspects of basic first aid, including:
Emergency First Aid
This is a 4-hour course, that is designed to give a brief overview of some of the key first aid skills (such as CPR, choking and control of bleeding).[6]
Emergency Resuscitation
This is a 2-hour course that teaches basic life support skills.[6]
Junior First Aid
This course that has been developed to teach a variety of first aid skills to children under the age of 15.[7]
Sports Injuries First Aid
This course places particular emphasis on injuries that might be encountered in a sporting environment (fractures, spinal injuries etc.), whilst also encouraging record keeping and advice on what a sports first aid kit should contain.[8]
Baby and Child First Aid
This course is particularly aimed at parents and those who work with young children, as it focuses on baby and child CPR and choking procedures as well as recognition and treatment of common childhood illnesses and injuries.[9]
Anaphylaxis Awareness
This is a 4-hour course that is entirely centred around anaphylaxis: causes, the effects on the body, recognition and treatment. There is a section on the use of an EpiPen, and opportunity to use a practice EpiPen.[9]
HSE Approved First Aid at Work
This 18 hour long course covers most of what is done in Standard First Aid, but also provides information on relevant laws and advice on contents of first aid boxes and rooms.
Emergency Aid for Appointed Persons Course
This one day course is more basic than First Aid at Work, that is similar in scope to Emergency First Aid.[10]
The Corps was formed in 1904, in order to bring together the various ambulance Corps that had formed and to allow these people to improve their first aid skills by practising together and being available at public gathering.[11] The aim of the Corps has not changed over the past 100 years, and today it still exists and provides an opportunity for people to practice and use their first aid skills.
The Corps is made up from over 80 Corps Companies, each of which are based within a specific area and come under the administration of one of the Executive Committees. Overall control of the Corps comes from the Association, with National Headquarters providing administrative support.[12]
A Corps Company consists of volunteer members who attend regular training meetings, go on duty to provide first aid cover at events and oversee the general running of the company. There are a number of different roles within a Corps Company:
Members of the Corps are constantly updating their first aid skill at regular meetings, however there is also opportunity to undertake further training courses:
There is also training in radio communications, as radios are used by members at many duties in order to help speed up communications, and better mobilise members and equipment in response to incidents.[17]
The Corps supplies members to duties across the country, ranging from village fêtes to international sporting events and music festivals. For example, St Andrew's provides cover at Scotland's four largest stadia (Celtic Park, Hampden Park, Ibrox Stadium and Murrayfield Stadium), as well as major festivals such as T in the Park and Live at Loch Lomond.
St Andrew's first aiders are required to wear uniform when on duty and are encouraged to wear it whenever they are representing the organisation. There are currently three uniform sets:
In addition, there are high visibility jackets, hard hats, ski hats, waterproof jackets and backpack style first aid kits.[18]
A uniform review has just concluded, and soon a new uniform will roll out, which will see the many different variations available scaled down.
St Andrew's, St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross Society collectively form the Voluntary Aid Societies. Together, the organisations produce the official First Aid Manual in the United Kingdom.
Following an agreement in 1908, St John Ambulance ceased to operate in Scotland and St Andrew's ceased to operate in England.[19] St Andrew's enjoys goods relations with the British Red Cross, and they often work in partnership at larger duties such as T in the Park.
In 1882, St Andrew's Ambulance Association was formed in Glasgow by a group of local doctors and businessmen who were concerned by the rapid increase in accidents resulting from traffic and modern machinery. First aid and casualty transportation classes were conducted and Scotland's first ambulance was bought by the Association in April 1882, which served Glasgow and the surrounding area providing first aid and transportation to hospital to accident victims. In the following years, the number of calls the Association responded to grew so as by 1886 there were six ambulances stationed in towns throughout Scotland.[20]
In order to make teaching more uniform, in 1891 the Association published Dr George T. Beatson's Ambulance Hand-book that provided a concise overview of anatomy, physiology, injuries, first aid treatment and casualty transportation. The book remained the Association standard text for over 40 years as it was updated and republished.[20]
At the turn of the century, the Association underwent two major changes: In 1899, a Royal Charter was granted by Queen Victoria that changed the Association from a collection of individuals to a legally recognised single entity and in 1904 the St Andrew's Ambulance Corps was formed to bring together the various ambulance groups around the country under a single administration.[11]
Within 48 hours of war being declared, the Corps was able to entirely staff all of Scotland's military hospitals, freeing the regular staff for service. In addition to this, St Andrew's were also able to assemble two Foreign Service Units (which served in France and in hospital ships), a Military Nursing Service (derived from females Corps members) and a transport service alongside the British Red Cross attending to wounded soldiers from hospital trains.[21] Whilst all of this was happening, St Andrew's usual civilian work of first aid training and casualty transportation continued unabated (albeit the additional services placed strain on the Association's funds).[20]
After the First World War ended, the British Red Cross Society presented the Association with a large number of motor ambulance wagons that were no longer required by the military. This allowed a complete ambulance service to be extended throughout Scotland. In order to meet the needs of the expanding organisation, the Association commissioned plans for permanent Headquarters to be built in the North Street, Glasgow. This building opened in 1929 and its facilities included a garage, workshops, offices, classrooms and a drill hall.[20] By 1939, the Association was granted Royal Patronage, with The Queen Mother as patron.[11]
The Association faced the task of preparing the Scottish public for air raids, and it responded by providing classes in Aid Raid Precautions, Anti-Gas Precautions and First Aid for air raid casualties. As the First World War, St Andrew's was active in the war effort: the Corps provided thousands of staff for the Civil Nursing Reserve, transportation of casualties after air raids and providing first aid and nursing training to school children. In Glasgow, the Association provided accommodation for the newly formed Blood Transfusion Service, as well as arranging free transport for donors.