During the current outbreak COVID-19, we want to reassure all of our clients that we are taking all possible precautions whilst still providing essential first aid training. We want to ensure that our clients have no doubts as to how we will be doing this and have put together a 10-step process that will be used in each of our training courses.
During the course induction, our trainers will use medical device and equipment disinfectant wipes (e.g. Trionic) on classroom surfaces. We will also check all learners and exclude anyone that exhibits COVID-19 symptoms: continuous cough/temperature.
We will also check that no learner is in a situation where they should be self-isolating e.g a family member with symptoms in the last 14 days or from an “at risk group“. We will exclude those learners as necessary.
On arrival, each learner will be required to thoroughly sanitise their hands with either hand gel or an alcohol wipe that we will provide. They will be instructed that if they need to cough/sneeze it should be done into a tissue which is promptly disposed of and their hands re-sanitised. If they have no tissues available, they will be instructed to do this into a bent elbow, which is better than into a hand/fist, and never to cough/sneeze without covering their mouth and nose.
Note: This will be monitored closely by the trainers and the group will be encouraged to maintain this standard throughout.
All learners will be shown the below videos on how COVID-19 spreads; and
How to properly wash their hands.
It will be clearly explained to all learners that they should refrain from touching their mouth, nose or eyes unless they have just washed their hands or have sanitised. We will explain which methods we have available on that course for them to sanitise their hands (e.g. hand gel or alcohol wipes) and where they can wash their hands with water and soap.
The biggest risk of contamination by far is from people to people through germination on hands. Before we begin the CPR practice, this will be explained to the learners as well as all the protections we have put in place to prevent infection during CPR practice. The measures include:
The measures include:
- Frequently replacing lungs/airways/valves;
- One way valves to stop air coming back out of the manikin mouth;
- Alcohol/sanitising wipes between learners; and
- Anti-surfactant wipe (e.g. Trionic wipes) after each session (removes any bio-film as well as killing germs).
These steps alone are sufficient to prevent infection and that is all that is normally used on our first aid courses, which has been approved as sufficient by the Health and Safety Executive and NHS Consultant Microbiologists.
However, in the current climate, we will also be issuing each learner their own personal CPR face shield to provide a double fail-safe.
Learners will be instructed on how to correctly use the face shield each time. This includes gently tucking the filter part of the shield into the manikin’s mouth helps keep it in place, they will still nip the nose as usual through the face shield.
Between each learner, alcohol/sanitising wipes will be used on the manikin face as well as the forehead and chest where hands are placed (to prevent hand to surface/surface to hand contamination).
Learners will be split into small groups, where they will have use of the same manikin all through the course to prevent the possibility of course-wide infection spread.
At the end of every theory session, learners will be asked to sanitise or wash their hands. Before and after each practical session, learners will be asked to sanitise or wash their hands.
Please click here for further updates on our first aid courses.