Scottish First Aid Week
The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-04579, in the name of James Dornan, on celebrating St Andrew’s First Aid week. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament congratulates St Andrew’s First Aid on its Scottish First Aid Week, which runs from 24 to 30 November 2012 and aims to raise public awareness of the importance of first aid and promote the message that people working together can save lives; understands that some 20,000 people a year take part in first aid courses in Scotland but that there is still much to be done; is concerned that 77% of people feel that they lack the knowledge and confidence to administer basic first aid at the point of need and that this plays a part in the 34,000 cases of common household accidents such as falls, choking and burns that attend hospital rather than being dealt with by a first aider, and considers that this places an unnecessary strain on emergency services.
17:03
I welcome to the gallery Mary McLuskey, Jim Dorman, Helen Forrest and Stuart Callison, all of whom are from St Andrew’s First Aid. We will meet immediately after the debate in room TG.23 to discuss St Andrew’s First Aid’s work, and I am sure that they would be delighted if other members joined us.
St Andrew’s First Aid has a long and glorious history in Scotland, primarily in my home city of Glasgow. It was formed in 1882 by a group of Glasgow doctors and businessmen who were concerned about the rise in the number of accidents that were being witnessed, and it bought its first ambulance in April that year, from which first aid was provided to victims of accidents and which, if necessary, transported casualties to hospital. By 1886, St Andrew’s First Aid had six ambulances stationed in towns across Scotland.
St Andrew’s went on to play a critical role in the war effort at home in the first world war. Within 48 hours of war being declared, it was able to staff military hospitals in Scotland with volunteers, thus freeing the pre-war staff for other duties. It also assembled two foreign-service units, which served in France and helped on hospital ships, and staffed a military nursing service. It went on to open its first headquarters in Glasgow in 1929.
When I was a young boy back in the 1950s—I know that people would not believe that to look at me—my next-door neighbour Mr Boath, who was a lovely and extremely well-dressed man, used to leave his house in uniform every Saturday and occasionally mid-week. As a kid, I did not understand why that was, until one day I went to a match at Hampden. It was then that I realised that Mr Boath, like many others, was a St Andrew’s First Aid volunteer who helped to keep tens of thousands of football fans safe every week.
St Andrew’s continues in that role to this day. Its volunteers administer first aid at a whole host of events across Scotland: from T in the Park to the Connect music festival; from the Cowal Highland games to the Royal Highland Show; and from events at major concert venues to international, Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League matches at Hampden. The importance of those volunteers in keeping us safe at events cannot be overstated.
The role takes on even more significance when we consider the number of Scots who feel that they lack the knowledge of basic first aid that could save a life. One in 10 Scots says that they have witnessed a medical emergency in a restaurant, hotel or entertainment venue. Only last week, a member of my staff told me about an incident at a theatre in Glasgow where a woman in the audience collapsed. Fortunately for the woman, Kirsty was there with her sister, who is a trained nurse, and there were a number of other medical professionals nearby, including first-aiders, who were able to administer care and keep the woman comfortable until an ambulance arrived. I say “fortunately” because, by her own admission, Kirsty would not have had the confidence to administer first aid if she had been alone. That is why she is looking into signing herself up for one of St Andrew’s basic first aid courses. Each year, more than 20,000 folk are taught life-saving techniques at those courses by some of the most experienced and highly qualified first-aiders in the country.
Some 77 per cent of Scots feel that they lack the skills and confidence to administer basic first aid. If we all had those basic skills, we could go a long way towards preventing some of the 34,000 cases of common household accidents such as falls, burns and choking from ending in a visit to hospital when first aid would have sufficed. An unintended consequence of that, of course, is the additional strain that is put on our dedicated front-line national health service staff and the resulting impact on budgets.
Worryingly, research commissioned by St Andrew’s First Aid and undertaken by YouGov found that 45 per cent of Scottish parents would not be confident of knowing what to do if they had a 10-year-old child who was choking. Indeed, I remember when my kids were younger—again, this is going back a bit—being in that very situation one Christmas dinner when my son got a bit of meat stuck in his throat and the fright that I got until we managed to get it dislodged.
Those are just some of the reasons why I am delighted to take this opportunity to highlight the work that the organisation does both generally and more specifically in Scottish first aid week. The week aims to highlight the work of St Andrew’s First Aid in training people in first aid. The week’s theme this year is “You kiss them every day. If you had to give the kiss of life, would you know how?” Using social networks and advertising campaigns—including the effective side-of-bus advertising that has been seen in Glasgow and across Scotland—the organisation has worked hard to get that message across.
Scottish first aid week culminates in the Scottish first aid awards, which will take place in Glasgow this Thursday in conjunction with The Herald and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations. The awards showcase some of the best that Scotland has to offer through the people who made a difference to the lives of others by administering first aid. For example, Elliot Aitchison resuscitated a toddler who got into difficulty swimming, while the baby’s terrified mother looked on not knowing what to do. There is no doubt that Elliot’s prompt action saved that baby’s life. When Felicity and Mark Brown came upon a car accident, they proceeded to make the area safe by removing the car’s ignition key and stayed to offer comfort to a dying woman in the last moments of her life. How many of us could have done that? In my view, those actions were nothing short of heroic, and Felicity, Mark and Elliot deserve the highest praise.
During Scottish first aid week, some online guides to first aid have been published on the St Andrew’s First Aid website. The guides offer a wealth of information to parents about basic steps that they can take to prepare for any accidents that might take place. Such training can make all the difference, and I urge everyone to take a look at those great, informative guides.
St Andrew’s First Aid asks for a number of things in the briefing that it sent me, and there are a couple that I would like the minister to have a look at. The briefing asks that
“The Scottish Government endorse Scottish First Aid Week and permit the use of the Government logo on Scottish First Aid Week materials from 2012-2014 that reinforce the message that early intervention through even basic first aid can save lives and encourage individuals from across Scotland to learn First Aid to gain life saving skills.”
It also asks that
“The Scottish Government endorse the ‘Setting the Standard’ initiative and to permit the use of the Scottish Government logo on materials to show the business community that Scotland is serious about First Aid.”
I ask the minister to consider those requests and to get back to me with a detailed response.
I am delighted to have brought this debate to the Parliament. I hope that first aid week and the award ceremony on Thursday are a great success—I have no doubt that they will be—and that they inspire many more people to learn the basic skills that could mean the difference between life and death. As we prepare for the 2014 Commonwealth games and all the other events that will take place in that year, we should encourage everyone who can do so to take the necessary first aid training to ensure that, as well as being able to help their families and loved ones, they can be ready to help those who visit our beautiful country. St Andrew’s First Aid deserves our thanks and gratitude for its work and for highlighting the need for us all to begin to take on that important responsibility for ourselves.
17:10
I thank James Dornan and congratulate him on securing this debate on St Andrew’s First Aid and its first aid week. In particular, I thank him for highlighting the origins of the society in wartime. I must say that, because of my ignorance, I had not fully appreciated that, so it was interesting to hear about it.
Around the time that the motion was lodged, I was travelling on the evening train back to Glasgow when a call when out for a doctor. When one was not found, the call went out for a first-aider. Some passengers grumbled about the delay, but most of us spared a thought for the train guard. Particularly in this week, we should spare a thought for all workers who are left to administer first aid. We can only imagine how stressful that must be for many of them.
I am a former member of the Royal Life Saving Society. For three years or so while I was at school and during my studies, I had the opportunity to work as a lifeguard. Luckily, during that time, there were only a very small number of incidents, but I was always struck by the number of people who told me that they would not know what to do in an emergency. It is particularly interesting that the emergency situations that arose were often more to do with the sweetie vending machine than the pool. James Dornan is right to highlight the specific issues about children and choking and the importance of encouraging parents to understand first aid for their kids.
On water safety, I take the opportunity to make a plea to the minister. I am sure that he shares my view that we need to do a lot more to ensure that all children in Scotland can swim when they leave school, which would make a considerable difference to the number of water incidents in which first aid is required.
St Andrew’s first aid week is a time to salute volunteer first-aiders. My dad was a St Andrew’s volunteer. As a child, I used to wait for the end of his shift, whether it was at the football, the theatre or a local gallery, to hear where he had been and then to ask him how gruesome any incidents that he had dealt with had been. I remember the uniform that he wore, which was probably part of a direct chain of uniforms going right back to the origin of the society. Thanks to Mr Dornan, I now understand better the role that the society played as a uniformed organisation.
I hope that initiatives such as the current television campaign featuring Vinnie Jones, which encourages us all to understand more about cardiopulmonary resuscitation, raise our awareness about the importance of learning first aid and particularly CPR. In turn, that might lead to further recruitment of volunteer first-aiders.
I mentioned that children in school should be taught to swim. They should also be taught basic life-saving skills and the importance of first aid. Every child should leave school able to deal with an emergency situation and with a basic understanding of life-saving skills. I have raised that issue with the education ministers through questions, and I appreciate the work that the Scottish Government is doing on it, although I feel that we could do more, rather than leave the matter up to individual local authorities and schools to decide.
I thank ambulance men and women across the country; all workers who are qualified as first-aiders; and, particularly at this time, all volunteer first-aiders. I encourage all of us who have previously trained to refresh our skills and those who have not yet trained to take the opportunity to learn more about first aid.
17:14
I thank James Dornan for bringing the motion to the Parliament for debate. I also thank the members of the St Andrew’s Ambulance Association who are in the gallery and the many volunteers around the country who, in their own time, provide the many services about which we have heard.
One of the startling things that I have learned is the national figures for last year: 18,729 people were trained in first aid techniques and more than 3,000 events throughout the country were attended. That is a phenomenal number of volunteers giving up their time to do exceptionally good work.
In doing my research for the debate, I was delighted to find that there is a thriving St Andrew’s branch in my constituency—the Strathkelvin branch, which has a long history. The internet is a wonderful thing. I found that the Strathkelvin branch used to be called the Kirkintilloch section of the St Andrew’s Ambulance Corps. A man called James Gordon, who lived in Kerr Street in Kirkintilloch, joined that corps on 8 April 1933. On the internet, you can find an image of the booklet that showed that he was a member and a trained first-aider. The organisation’s history is quite amazing. To bring it completely up to date, this year the local branch attended—among other events—Kirkintilloch gala day, the East Dunbartonshire cycle festival in Bishopbriggs and the Bearsden and Milngavie highland games. The Strathkelvin branch would not, of course, have attended that last event; it would have been the Milngavie branch, which is not based in my constituency, but covers it.
One of the really nice things that I learned about the Strathkelvin branch is that it has a St Andrew’s cadets branch, which is a programme for 11 to 15-year-olds. They not only learn first aid but attend events as observers and helpers, which is a great way to recruit volunteers for the future.
I hope that St Andrew’s First Aid does not mind my mentioning two other organisations with which I work closely on first aid and emergency life support. The British Heart Foundation has made a call for emergency life support to be taught in every school, as Drew Smith mentioned. When it conducted a survey, it found that 78 per cent of children would like to do that training. I was at an event on ELS with the BHF in October. The next day, I was in St Machan’s primary school in Lennoxtown, where all bar one of the primary 7 pupils said that they wanted to do that first aid training and ELS training if it was offered to them. I tell Drew that one thing that I managed to do over the October recess was not only to sign up to the BHF call myself but to get the First Minister to do so. I hope that we are moving towards the realisation of that training in every school.
I will also mention another organisation of which I am a member—Lucky2BHere, which is based on the Isle of Skye. It was formed in 2007 by my friend Ross Cowie after he had a serious cardiac event. That voluntary organisation now has more than 23 defibrillators in public places throughout Scotland. However, it not only puts in defibrillators, but ensures through the heartstart programme that everybody in the local community is trained to use them in the event of an emergency. That is something that I intend to do. The next time I am on Skye, I will get my training and, I hope, become one of the band of volunteers who are confident to do first aid when it is called for.
I remind members to use each other’s full names in debates.
17:19
I, too, thank James Dornan for bringing to Parliament the motion congratulating St Andrew’s First Aid on its first aid week.
First aid plays a vital role in everyday life in communities throughout Scotland. The St Andrew’s First Aid Scottish first aid week aims to raise public awareness of how important basic first aid is, to highlight the need for individuals to acquire life-saving skills and to highlight how early intervention, even with basic skills, can save lives.
As someone who has held a first aid certificate since I was eight years old, through being a member of a voluntary youth organisation, I have found the training to be extremely beneficial throughout the years. I little realised that the skills that I obtained would become crucial and be put into effective practice in the years to come.
Sadly, in many medical emergencies when an accident occurs, few people intervene to help the casualty—mainly due to lack of knowledge and confidence. Instead, people prefer to wait for the ambulance service or other professional help to come. In many cases, the first few minutes are very important, and if appropriate action is taken, it makes a huge difference to the casualty’s chances of survival.
There have been two incidents in my life in which the skills that I learned have played an important part. My first response in administering first aid had a crucial impact, when a friend suffered a large cut to his leg while working and a main blood vessel was hit. Without thinking, I put my training into action and stemmed the flow of blood by applying compression to the wound and elevating the leg. I reassured my friend and kept him calm while sending someone to get an ambulance. This was in the days before mobile phones.
In the second incident, my two-year-old son had swallowed a large boiled sweet that his older brother had given him. Alerted by screams of panic from his mum, I rushed into the room to find him lying on the floor struggling for air. Straight away, I put into practice what I had been taught, and very quickly a large boiled sweet was rolling across the living room floor. To this day, I can remember the look of relief on everyone’s faces. Since then, my son—who is now 21—has never eaten a boiled sweet. I have no doubt that, on that day, the first aid skills that I had been taught were life saving, and I am eternally grateful for that.
First aid skills are important not just in individual situations but at large organised events, where there is an increased chance that someone will need first aid. In 2014, Scotland expects a large increase in overseas visitors and large attendances by Scottish citizens at the homecoming events, the battle of Bannockburn celebrations, the Ryder cup and the Commonwealth games. Basic first aid skills will no doubt be needed—unfortunately—to deal both with minor injuries and, more important, medical emergencies, in which the taking of appropriate action will make a huge difference.
I welcome Scottish first aid week because it promotes basic life-saving skills and raises awareness of how important they are in responses to the most common medical emergencies. Research shows that implementation of those skills greatly improves people’s chances of survival in more serious situations. It is essential that a positive message that emphasises the benefits of life-saving skills is sent out to communities throughout Scotland. I hope that that will encourage many adults and teenagers to avail themselves of opportunities to acquire the knowledge and confidence that are necessary to administer basic first aid.
One never knows where and when first aid skills will be needed, but there can be no disputing that possession of those skills can and does make a difference—sometimes the difference between life and death.
17:22
I, too, salute James Dornan for bringing this debate on Scottish first aid week to the chamber, as it helps to raise public awareness of the importance of first aid and promotes the message that, working together, people can save lives.
St Andrew’s First Aid is Scotland’s oldest first aid charity. It teaches life-saving techniques to more than 20,000 people a year and it aids the public at thousands of events across the country. However, as the motion states, although some 20,000 people a year take part in first aid courses, there is still much more to be done to give people the knowledge and confidence that are required to administer effective emergency assistance when it is needed. In an emergency situation, it is critical that basic first aid is delivered with confidence.
As a parent and grandparent, I know that everyone dreads a serious injury to their child or grandchild, and basic first aid training can make a life-saving difference. I, too, had a frightening experience as a parent when one of my children, as a toddler, unbeknown to me, had put a golf tee into his mouth just before I laid him down to change a nappy. During the procedure, I became aware that his colour had gone off slightly, then I noticed that his chest was being pulled in instead of expanding with each breath. I looked into his mouth and I could see that, as he breathed, the golf tee was being sucked between his vocal chords and the wide end was neatly plugging his airway.
With heart pounding and legs shaking, I immediately had him up by the heels and was able to dislodge the obstruction. I was a trained anaesthetist and I was used to observing patients’ airways. I dread to think what might have happened had I not had the appropriate knowledge. Needless to say, after that, golf tees were banned from our household for a number of years.
That is just one small example of the simple accidents that happen in homes every day. A knowledge of basic first aid procedures, such as how to stop bleeding, maintain an airway and position someone who is unconscious for whatever reason to ensure that they do not inhale vomit, can be life saving. First aid is an important skill. People can save lives by performing simple procedures, following certain guidelines and giving basic treatment until professional medical help arrives. I know of people who survived cardiac arrest because someone who had the appropriate knowledge was around at the time and was able to maintain circulation and a clear airway until professional help arrived.
I am a great fan of the first responder system, which has rescued many people in our more remote communities, where it takes time for an ambulance to reach a casualty. As a former medical practitioner, I know the strain that is placed on our tremendous emergency services throughout the country when common household accidents result in hospital attendance, which could have been avoided had a trained first-aider been on hand. As many people as possible should have basic first aid training. Our ambulance services do a sterling job in providing training in schools and communities.
Drew Smith made an important point about the need for every child to learn to swim.
I am a north-east MSP, so I am delighted that a member of Braemar Mountain Rescue has been nominated for a prestigious Scottish first aid award. Philip Glennie, who works at Braemar Mountaincraft in my region, has been short-listed for a private sector workplace first aid award. The awards recognise individuals or organisations who champion first aid training for their staff, customers and the public. Phil Glennie regularly assists voluntary groups from Girlguiding UK, the Scout Association and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, by teaching first aid. Over the years he has spoken to thousands of people about first aid. I am glad to take this opportunity to wish Mr Glennie well in the awards on Thursday.
I congratulate St Andrew’s First Aid on its Scottish first aid week, which is an excellent way to raise public awareness of the importance of first aid training in saving lives. I am happy to support the motion.
17:27
I congratulate James Dornan on securing the debate.
This afternoon, in our debate on St Andrew’s day, we talked about the many celebrations that are taking place in Scotland, including Glasgow loves St Andrew’s day, which is a three-day event in George Square, packed with dance, family entertainment, food, hot toddies and ale—a uniquely Scottish celebration in the heart of the city, to which all Scotland is invited.
It occurred to me that without the attendance of volunteer first-aiders such as those from St Andrew’s First Aid, the event would not be possible, nor would the many other winter festivals that are planned. That made me think about how much poorer our country would be without the volunteers from St Andrew’s First Aid. There would be no gala days, no community fun days or school fundraisers, no mini-rugby tournaments or sports events and no music festivals—nae T in the Park. Organisations such as the Boys Brigade, Girlguiding UK and the Scout Association, and the people who organise and supervise Duke of Edinburgh’s Award challenges, could not function without the training that St Andrew’s First Aid provides to them. The 1,600 athletes from around the world who took part in the international children’s games in Lanarkshire would not have had the opportunity to do so without such support.
Volunteers throughout Scotland should be recognised and celebrated, and volunteers at St Andrew’s First Aid are to be highly commended for their professionalism, high standard of training and expertise in first aid. In particular I acknowledge the organisation’s work with young people. In July this year, St Andrew’s First Aid organised heartstart training for young people who use Action for Children Scotland’s young carers service in North Lanarkshire. Fifty young people aged between nine and 18 signed up to take part in an intensive two-week course in the summer holidays, to learn skills that will be vital to them in their caring roles as well as equip them to deal with issues in wider society.
That is just one example of the courses that uniformed organisations deliver to young people. The Young Scot programme and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award raise awareness of the importance of first aid and support the aims of Scottish first aid week. Together, we can save lives.
One would have thought that involvement in the organisation might make one a bit risk averse. That does not seem to be the case for Georgette Fulton who, along with 11 daredevil volunteers, will take part in a 165ft SAS-style free-fall abseil from the Forth rail bridge on behalf of St Andrew’s First Aid. The abseil is not just to raise essential funds for St Andrew’s First Aid; Georgette Fulton is taking part for another reason, which is to mark her 72nd birthday. She is a commandant of the Cumnock and district volunteers group and has been a volunteer with St Andrew’s First Aid for more than 19 years. That is a great example of how St Andrew’s First Aid works with all of our community and how one is never too old to volunteer, take part and train in such an important role.
We heard some new terminology in relation to the Olympic games this year—games makers. The term could never encapsulate what St Andrew’s First Aid brings to Scottish life. Its first-aiders are not just games makers; they are more akin to our Scottish makars. Their skill, expertise and wisdom underpin the cultural, sporting and leisure life of our country, in the way in which our poets define us as a nation. Like our poetic makars, they are ever present and, while we might not refer to them every day, at times of crisis or need we turn to them for comfort and help. Our country would be all the poorer without them.
17:31
Like other members, I offer my congratulations to James Dornan on securing time for this debate. It is a debate to which I have listened with interest, particularly on the history of St Andrew’s First Aid, which was first established in Glasgow. Fiona McLeod was even able to track down the history of her local branch.
This is also an opportunity to congratulate St Andrew’s First Aid on the work that it is doing in general and, in particular, on first aid week.
It is important that we recognise the work of St Andrew’s First Aid and help to promote its message that together we can save lives. We should also recognise the valuable contribution that I have no doubt it will make to many of the significant events that will take place in 2014—to which David Torrance referred—not least the Commonwealth games, the Ryder cup and the homecoming. I am certain that the people responsible for organising those events will regard first aid provision as a key part of their planning and preparation.
In considering the debate, I have been struck by the many and varied ways in which people work together to support each other to save lives. For many years, the Scottish Ambulance Service has been working with a significant range of partners to support community resilience, including our health boards, healthcare professionals, emergency services, community groups, carers organisations, schools, nurseries, and charitable and voluntary organisations. The list goes on.
Members will be familiar with some of the work that goes on in their own communities: the community first responders, who provide vital support while an ambulance is on its way to an emergency; the community resuscitation development officers, who recruit and train community members to provide care; the public access defibrillators in a range of locations, supported by training and awareness raising; and the first aid awareness and training in schools and communities. All of those are examples of how we are working towards our bigger objective of delivering better outcomes and experiences for individuals, to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and attendances, and to strengthen and empower our local communities to be safer and healthier.
As members have said, first aid training is hugely important to our communities. I was a proud holder of my St Andrew’s First Aid badge when I was in the scouts, and I had extensive casualty care training when I was in mountain rescue. The value of such training was summed up by the experiences of Nanette Milne and David Torrance that involved a golf tee and a boiled sweet. Those incidents ended in all being well, but one would not want to think about what the consequences could have been if someone had not known how to act appropriately.
It is not just formal training that can make a difference to people in such circumstances. Many of us will have seen the British Heart Foundation’s TV advert that features Vinnie Jones, to which Drew Smith referred. In it, someone suddenly collapses, is not breathing normally and is unresponsive, and they might have had a cardiac arrest. The advert advises the public not to worry about giving the kiss of life during CPR but to concentrate on performing hard and fast chest compressions, to the tune of the Bee Gees track “Stayin’ Alive”.
The latest version of that advert features Alan Linton, who suffered a heart attack while playing golf with friends in Fife. His friends had seen the advert and they kept him alive until an ambulance arrived. He is in no doubt that the fact that his friends saw and acted on that advert means that he can tell his story today. Such tips really can help people to make the time-critical interventions that can save lives.
The debate focuses on St Andrew’s First Aid week. I was interested in the information that St Andrew’s First Aid gathered about Scottish parents and their children. Many members will relate to the experiences that people have with their children—as David Torrance did—and to questions about what we can do to ensure that children are safe and that we have the right knowledge to intervene when necessary.
The Scottish Government, with partners, recognises fully the importance of supporting individuals and carers to be confident and equipped with the skills to deal with such situations. That is why in recent years we have taken forward work with organisations such as the Child Accident Prevention Trust, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, Barnardo’s and Volunteer Development Scotland. We have also provided financial support for work on injury prevention and safety initiatives. Our commitment to this important agenda is set out in a number of ways, which include pursuing it through the curriculum for excellence in our schools.
We are aware that work to tackle unintended injuries takes place in a range of areas, from road safety, fire safety and falls prevention to inland water safety. It is important that we work together so that we learn from one another and share experience about what works best.
James Dornan asked about St Andrew’s First Aid working with the Scottish Government and using the Scottish Government’s logo. I am more than happy to consider that, to respond to him in detail and to set out the assistance that we might be able to provide.
I thank first-aiders across Scotland and the organisations that train and support them for all their dedication and effort. I congratulate in advance all those who will be recognised at the Scottish first aid awards in Glasgow on Thursday. I have no doubt that St Andrew’s First Aid will continue to provide an invaluable service in the years to come, and I look forward to working with it and supporting it in any way that we can.
Meeting closed at 17:39.