UK & Ireland exclusive: Chapter News (March 2019)

ALL THE LATEST H.O.G. CHAPTER NEWS FROM THE UK & IRELAND

Geordie Chapter’s First Aid Training

Prior to the start of the riding season the Geordie Chapter road crew undertake a first aid course at Pegs Wood Fire station in Alnwick. Ably directed by station crew manager Shaun Arundel, retired paramedic, Greg Holmes and NHS specialist nurse, Dawn Beattie, as part of the Chapter’s road crew, they make the presentation annually.

Regular pillion riders of each road crew member are also encouraged to attend, as they’ve previously been valuable assets at incidents on ride outs.

We go through the basics of first aid, including what to do if someone is choking or bleeding heavily, how to remove a crash helmet if required, along with what to do if you’re first on scene at an accident.

We also run through defibrillator use. We carry one on chapter rides. We are also trainined on administering CPR. Our first aid kits include a small sheet of gorse type material with a hole in the middle to put over the mouth when giving artificial ventilation. If the person has facial injuries this may not be sufficient so we provide a Hypa Guard Pocket Face Mask for each one of our road crew as part of their first aid kits. This small piece of kit allows you to give breath if needed without coming into direct contact with the victim. They cost about £5. Our first aid kits are checked regularly as certain items go out of date. When was the last time you checked yours?

Barry Gillespie
Director, Geordie Chapter