First Aid In Schools

To truly understand the potential impact, we can look beyond our borders and take inspiration from
our European neighbours, many of whom were early adopters of this life saving education.
If you are lucky enough to be born in Norway, First Aid has been a mandatory part of the school
curriculum there since 1961.

With younger learners being able to: understand what to do when they encounter an accident, call
for the emergency services and explain what needs to happen to maximise the chances of survival.
Once students reach 16 they are taught how to perform CPR and treat hypothermia, which, I feel is
useful for one of the coldest countries in Europe.

Equally impressive, is the way that First Aid is seamlessly integrated into the wider school
curriculum, with a large percentage of it being taught alongside swimming and rescue education.
Which relates to, amongst other things, self-rescue techniques, such as what to do when falling
through the ice of a frozen lake!

The Danes grasped the importance of First Aid in schools a little later, becoming compulsory in 2005.
Again, they introduce the concepts of First Aid young, when pupils are still in primary school, then
build on these skills further in secondary school.

It hasn’t all been plain sailing with the roll out of First Aid in schools in Denmark though, some
studies have found that up to 50 % of primary schools don’t comply with the legislation. The most
commonly cited reason is a lack of awareness that First Aid training is, in fact, mandatory.

Alongside teaching First Aid in schools, a lot of European countries require some level of First Aid
qualification to obtain a driving license. For example, Switzerland instructs its drivers to undertake a
mandatory 10- hour First Aid course. Whereas Germany requires 9 x 45 minutes sessions to be
completed before drivers even think about applying for a theory test.

When we look at the effect this widespread teaching of First Aid has on survival rates, the results are
quite astonishing.

In Norway and Denmark survival rates of an OHCA (Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest) can be as high as
25% whereas in the UK we are still floundering at 9%. This may also be down to these two countries’
use of The Bystander CPR Programme, which involves volunteers signing up to an app whereby they
are alerted of a nearby cardiac arrest and their nearest defibrillator.

The European Resuscitation Council is spearheading the First Aid Education message, using the
catchy slogan of ‘Kids Save Lives’ for their CPR training in schools project, which recommends that
two hours of CPR training is undertaken annually in schools from the age of 12.

The idea behind this initiative is a simple one. Quite often for serious medical emergencies like a
cardiac arrest, it is often a child that is at home with the person taken unwell, therefore it is vitally
important they understand and are able to spot the signs, call for help and if able undertake CPR.

Shifting the lens back to matters closer to home, surveys undertaken in the UK have shown that
when asked only 22 % of people said they would be confident to perform CPR and use an AED on a
stranger. Furthermore, despite the proliferation of public access AEDs in recent years, bystanders
are using them on cardiac arrest victims in only 10% of cases before an ambulance arrives.

Now, this could be down to rapid response times from the emergency services, or it could be due to
a lack of knowledge around AEDs amongst the general public.

However, as we look to the future there is genuine reason for optimism. With greater awareness
and education around First Aid, particularly with school age children, we have the potential to also
significantly improve survival rates from life-threatening injuries and reduce avoidable deaths for
generations to come.