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Ayr and Troon Company receive Automated External Defibrillator from Robert Barr Trust

Posted on: Monday 13th May 2013

St Andrew's First Aid - Ayr and Troon Company has recently been gifted an Automated External Defibrillator, courtesy of the Robert Barr Charitable Trust. Ayr and Troon have 25 members and cover a variety of local duties. As a result, this increases the chances of volunteers having to deal with a First Aid emergency, such as a sudden cardiac arrest. In the case of a First Aid emergency, our volunteers are normally the first on the scene to administer Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) which keeps the heart oxygenated and ready for defibrillation. The chances of survival decrease by 7-10% for every minute that the casualty goes without defibrillation. On-site access to AEDs can literally be a life or death matter.Sudden cardiac arrest is defined as the unexpected cessation of the heart pumping blood and contrary to popular belief it is not the same as a ‘heart attack’. Sudden cardiac arrest is the most prominent medical emergency in the world and kills 100,000 people a year in the UK*. Only one in a hundred people in Scotland survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest**. In the case of sudden cardiac arrest, defibrillation is the only effective therapy for a patient. AEDs are safe, effective and can be operated by non-medical personnel. Stephanie Stewart, Marketing and Fundraising Officer at St Andrew’s First Aid said “In the event of a sudden cardiac arrest, access to an AED can literally make the difference between a life and death situation. Thanks to the generosity of the Robert Barr Charitable Trust, St Andrew’s First Aid – Ayr and Troon Company are fully equipped to provide potentially life-saving First Aid assistance to the local community at events”.

Stewart Simpson's Top Tips for BBQ Safety

Posted on: Thursday 9th May 2013

We asked Stewart Simpson, Training Manager at St Andrew’s First Aid Training and Supplies Ltd. for his top five tips for staying safe around BBQs this summer. All BBQs pose a fire risk and as such should only be used by responsible adults. It’s worth noting that damage caused by ‘boozy barbecuers’ costs on average £412 to repair. Never leave your BBQ unattended – you never know what could happen in the two minutes it takes you to run in to the house to grab more burgers. This is the perfect excuse to keep an adult assistant close to hand! Don’t wear loose clothing when BBQ-ing. It’s all too easy for sleeves and scarves to catch fire on a BBQ – keep long hair tied back as well to avoid injuries. Make sure you keep a BBQ ‘no go zone’ for children and objects such as parasols. Children could really injure themselves by playing near a BBQ and it’s all too easy for a parasol to catch fire and cause catastrophic damage to your home. Keep a First Aid Kit close to hand – and if possible someone with First Aid training. On average it takes 8 minutes for the Scottish Ambulance Service to respond to a call out – it takes just 4 minutes for choking to prove fatal. St Andrew’s First Aid Training and Supplies Ltd. can help you with all your BBQ safety needs. From supplying First Aid kits for that family get together to Fire Marshal Training for a large scale event we have the knowledge and expertise to help you see out summer safely.Stewart says, “St Andrew’s First Aid Training and Supplies Ltd.’s comprehensive course covers everything from preventing and combating fires to evacuation and different types of Fire Extinguishers. You can also stock up on supplies such as our Burns Kits and Fire Safety kits which will give you peace of mind that in the event of a BBQ fire, help will be on hand. These items are all available on our website as well as in our shop based in our Glasgow Headquarters.”For more information on our supplies or training courses please visit www.firstaid.org.uk

Posted on: Friday 3rd May 2013

Please support St Andrew's First Aid by voting for us to win The People's Choice - Heart and Soul Award at the Scottish Charity Awards. In addition to this, I'd also like you to consider nominating us as your local Sainsbury's Charity of the Year 2013. I have included information about both below. SCVO Scottish Charity Awards St Andrew’s First Aid is delighted to have been shortlisted in the Campaign of the Year category for our Scottish First Aid Week campaign. Because we have been shortlisted, we are also included in The People's Choice - Heart & Soul Award, sponsored by Martin Aitken & Co. This Award gives the general public the opportunity to vote for their favourite shortlisted organisation and we need your vote. Please visit http://www.scvo.org.uk/vote/scottish-first-aid-week/ as soon as possible, to cast your vote for St Andrew’s First Aid.For this inaugural campaign we were privileged to have the support of two new ambassadors - Kaye Adams and her daughter Charly. Kaye had first-hand experience of dealing with a terrifying moment when her youngest daughter Bonnie turned pale and fell from a chair during a visit to the hairdressers. Kaye and Charly participated in a photocall and attended First Aid training which significantly helped to raise awareness of our campaign message ‘You kiss them every day. If you had to give the kiss of life, would you know how?’ With their help we reached hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland.As Scotland’s dedicated First Aid charity our endeavour is to make Scotland more resilient by teaching people how to save lives and our campaign helped to spread this message. It is concerning to know that research shows that 77% of people lack the knowledge and confidence to administer basic First Aid, and go straight to dialling 999. We want to reduce this statistic and Scottish First Aid Week is an ideal platform to raise public awareness of the importance of First Aid in the community. Sainsbury’s Local Charity of the Year Every year Sainbury’s invites the public to submit nominations of which charities they would like to see being supported in their local area. The partnership then runs for a year with the store supporting the charity through fundraising and volunteering. To become charity of the year for a local branch of Sainsbury’s would make a huge difference to St Andrew’s First Aid, so we’re asking you to nominate us in your local branch.You can nominate us in three different ways. First of all, you can visit your local store and submit a nomination there. If that doesn’t suit then you can download a form (see link below) and either hand it into the store or email it to local.charity@sainsburys.co.uk. Make sure you include our details as well as your local store’s name and address if you’re emailing it.For more information please visit this page. Hurry though, nominations close on the 14 May.Thank you very much for your support, I will keep you updated on both the Scottish Charity Awards and Sainsbury’s Local Charity nominations.