OXFORD HOC BIKER DOWN COURSE………..
Scheduled to be at the Great Haddenham Fire Station by 7.30pm for the start of the Oxford HOC Biker Down Training, some of the 12 attendees scuttled in 10-15 minutes late due to the heavy traffic and road closures on the way from their various locations. Not to worry, Keith and Chris were very patient and had waited.
Hot coffee and tea on arrival and we all sat down to an enthralling 3.1/2 hours of first on the scene and first aid training so that we were in someway prepared should we come across a biker’s, or even a car driver’s, nightmare – an accident.
I have attended several First Aid courses in the past but this was very different and Chris, who delivered the First Aid training, looked at the ‘why’ we need to be careful of damaging the spine when taking a helmet off, ‘why’ stopping excessive bleeding is so important, ‘why’ noticing swelling in limbs etc is vital and an amazing amount of other points that I had not thought of previously.
Keith started the evening by giving tips on what to do when you first arrive at the scene of an incident and then Chris went into a more detailed explanation of what to look for in the injured parties, first steps in treatment, how to recognise different injuries and how to deal with each of them.
The time dashed by as we listened intently and then it was our turn. We had to look for our pulses and count (some of us decided we were dead already as couldn’t find one!), practice taking each others helmets off (with much hilarity as the heads were held firm to stop spine damage but noses got squashed, cheeks squeezed and hair virtually removed from the ‘casualty’s’ head!). Then onto cpr – 30 chest compressions to two mouth-to-mouth (it is amazing how exhausting that was!) and Chris told us we would have to keep going till the emergency services arrived or the patient started to breath.
Each attendee was given a key ring which includes the ‘DRCABC’ (Danger, Responses, Catastrophic bleeding, Airway, Breathing, Circulation) actions in sequence to follow when you arrive at the scene and your mind goes blank (ours are now attached to my First Aid boxes that I carry in both the car and bike).
There was so much to absorb but Chris delivered it in such a way that it seemed to be more easily remembered than the instructional step by step training, there was even a brief interlude for more coffee/tea and refreshments when you could ask any specific questions on a one to one basis.
This course was free (http://bucksfire.gov.uk/roads/biker-down/) with purely an optional donation to the Air Ambulance or Fire Service Injury Fund and Keith is more than willing to organise another evening for those who were unable to attend this first event.
Let me know if you are interested!
