The final item of business today is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-08144, in the name of James Dornan, on St Andrew’s First Aid’s “First aid? Count me in” campaign. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament congratulates St Andrew’s First Aid on its Count Me In Campaign; notes that it is seeking 34,000 signatories to its pledge, which it understands is the equivalent of the number of household accidents reported on a yearly basis that are taken to hospital where basic first aid would have sufficed; understands that the campaign seeks to educate the almost three-quarters of people in Scotland, including in Glasgow Cathcart, who do not have basic first aid skills, and considers that these skills are crucial in saving lives and removing unnecessary strain on emergency services.
17:06
I start by welcoming Stuart Callison and Helen Forrest of St Andrew’s First Aid to the gallery, and by thanking the charity for the essential work that it does throughout Scotland to raise awareness of first aid.
St Andrew’s First Aid has provided access to the highest standards in first aid training and services in Scotland for more than 100 years. From its creation in 1882, St Andrew’s has been a principal figure in championing first aid and is without doubt Scotland’s leading first aid charity. St Andrew’s achievements include providing Scotland with its first ambulance service in April 1882; publishing Dr George T Beaton’s “Ambulance Hand-Book” in 1891 to make first aid teaching more uniform; establishing permanent headquarters in Glasgow in 1929, due to the growth of the organisation; and playing an active role in the war efforts during both world wars. I should put on record that all those things are history for me, as I was not there for any of them. During the first world war, St Andrew’s staffed all Scotland’s military hospitals and during the second world war it provided staff for the civil nursing reserve, transportation services for air-raid casualties and first aid training for school children.
Currently, St Andrew’s provides first aid training to more than 20,000 people per year in Scotland’s workplaces and communities, where it offers a range of courses for every need. Its volunteers deliver first aid services at numerous events throughout Scotland, from local community gatherings to Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League—now the Scottish Professional Football League—matches as well as at T in the park. Additionally, St Andrew’s emphasises youth development through its badgers and cadets programmes, which encourage interest in first aid and provide Scotland’s youth with the opportunity to develop skills in first aid and related subjects.
The organisation’s successes can be seen in the stories of its volunteers who have been able to save lives, as well as those who have gained valuable life skills. For example, when St Andrew’s first aid volunteer Tracy Jones was on holiday with her three children, she saved the life of a 19-month old baby who had gone missing and was found floating face down in a pond. The baby had stopped breathing and her parents did not know what to do, but Tracy successfully administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation and saved the wee girl’s life. In such emergencies, people tend to panic or freeze when they are unaware of what to do, so having even basic first aid skills can become a matter of life or death. Tracy was able to keep a level head as she used the skills that she had learned during her first aid course. Her heroic actions deserve the utmost praise. The training that St Andrew’s offers allows individuals to acquire not only the skills that can potentially save a life but the confidence that is needed to take charge of the situation, as Tracy did admirably.
During last year’s St Andrew’s First Aid debate, I mentioned that I wanted to gain first aid skills myself. I had the opportunity to do so in a basic tester class at the campaign launch for Scottish first aid week. There I had the pleasure to train alongside Clyde 1 disc jockey Knoxy—clearly, from his smile and nodding head, Bob Doris knows who Knoxy is—and several St Andrew’s volunteers. The volunteers included Emma Nicholson, who was winner of the youth first aider of the year competition in 2012, and Callum Derrick, who has been nominated for this year’s award. Even with the short amount of training that I received, I now feel much more prepared to address any emergency situation that I might face.
I was extremely delighted to see the level of support for the campaign as well as to hear of Emma’s and Callum’s achievements with St Andrew’s First Aid. Callum, who is now 17, has been involved with first aid since he was 10 and he encourages whomever he can—especially young children—also to gain the skills. He plans to continue volunteering with St. Andrew’s First Aid as he pursues his ultimate goal of joining the Royal Air Force.
Emma has been associated with St. Andrew’s since she was 14 and has completed both the cadet program and the standard first aid course. She has volunteered at events in Glasgow and has recruited other cadets. She plans to apply the skills that she is learning in her future career—she plans to be a teacher. It was inspiring and a pleasure to meet those young volunteers and to see how they are gaining valuable life skills from being involved with first aid. The courses and opportunities provide Scotland with dedicated individuals like Emma and Callum, who are equipped to respond to any crisis or emergency in their communities.
The skills can be learned at any age, by young children or adults, as I proved at that taster session. Therefore, it is concerning that, in spite of the high-quality training that is available throughout Scotland, fewer than one in four Scots has basic first aid skills. Even more worrying are the facts that 45 per cent of parents would not know what to do if their child was choking and that only 8 per cent of adult Scots have completed a child-related first aid course in the past three years. YouGov research that was commissioned by St Andrew’s First Aid found that parents’ greatest fear is of their child sustaining a head injury, followed by choking then drowning then burns. First aid intervention, even while waiting for emergency services, would be invaluable should any of those things occur. As a father and grandfather, I understand how helpless a parent would feel in an emergency if they were unable to deliver potentially life-saving first aid to their own child and how imperative it is to learn the techniques. The statistics are reason enough to do so.
It is extremely important that we each, individually, take the initiative to gain first aid skills and that we encourage others to do so. I recognise the vital work that St Andrew’s First Aid does to ensure that more Scots gain first aid knowledge. Scottish first aid week, which started on 24 November and runs until Saturday, is dedicated to promoting first aid awareness. This year, the charity is focusing on a Scotland-wide campaign called “First aid? Count me in”. The campaign will target the public, voluntary and private sectors and aims to increase awareness of the fact that basic first aid skills save lives.
The count me in pledge states:
“No one should die because they needed First Aid and didn’t get it.”
The campaign’s objective is to receive at least 34,000 signatures, which is a significant goal; it is equivalent to the number of Scots who are admitted to hospital each year as a result of burns, falls and choking. That number is even more serious given that 77 per cent of Scots lack the knowledge and confidence to administer basic first aid, so they immediately call 999. That high number of yearly accidents creates an excessive strain on national health service hospital and emergency services. That strain could be prevented because they are injuries to which first aid can make all the difference. Even a few minutes of administering first aid before paramedics arrive can have a significant impact, from decreasing the extent of the injury to ensuring that the injured person does not require any further medical attention or hospital admission. I am determined to help St Andrew’s First Aid to raise awareness of the campaign in order to make certain that more people throughout Scotland become better equipped to address such emergencies.
I take the chance, during first aid week, to stress how important it is for Scots to take the various opportunities that they have to gain basic training. First aid is not a skill that will go to waste and it can be called on when one least expects it. I strongly encourage folk to do as much as they can during and after first aid week to increase their knowledge of the subject, from signing the St Andrew’s count me in campaign or accessing online resources about first aid facts to signing up for and participating in a training course.
First aid week concludes on Saturday with the Scottish first aid awards—one of the highlights of the week—which will be held in Edinburgh. The awards will recognize and celebrate individuals, volunteers and businesses who have played an active role in championing first aid. It is important to celebrate those role models, because they create awareness and provide our society with examples of how everyday people can make a difference and save lives, encouraging each of us to be more proactive in learning and improving our first aid skills. As I mentioned, the count me in pledge states:
“No one should die because they needed First Aid and didn’t get it.”
I emphasise how valuable it is for our society to have individuals who can administer basic first aid and prevent the latter half of that statement from becoming a reality.
I thank St Andrew’s First Aid for the high-quality services, training and opportunities that it is providing throughout Scotland as it pursues its goal to promote first aid. I am pleased to have brought the debate to the Scottish Parliament and hope that Scottish first aid week continues to be a success and encourages more Scots to learn life-saving skills that create safer schools, workplaces and communities.
17:13
I congratulate James Dornan on securing the debate on an important issue and I echo his thanks to St Andrew’s First Aid for the work that it does. He has gone into detail about the count me in campaign, which sends out the important message that no one should die because they needed first aid and did not get it.
It is important to raise awareness of how first aid can save lives. People can show their support for that by signing the pledge online, reading first aid information, organising a first aid training event in their local area or volunteering with St Andrew’s First Aid in their community. As James Dornan said, volunteers work at loads of different events, from sporting events to music festivals and the like.
It is very easy to become a volunteer; being a volunteer means that a person gets the opportunity to learn those vital lifesaving skills. However, if people do not want to be on the front line—perhaps they are afraid that they might panic—they can volunteer to take on other jobs including administration, youth leadership, fund raising and public relations. Those jobs are vital to the voluntary organisation: it is important that its staff are free to train people to be first aiders.
Some years ago, I undertook—with some nervousness, because one never knows what situations one might be confronted with—St Andrew’s first aid training. I kept asking the trainer difficult questions on what would happen if such-and-such were to happen. The eventual answer—the trainer spoke with a slight tone of exasperation—was that if someone is dead, a person cannot kill them anymore, so there is nothing that a person can do in a situation in which help is needed apart from do their very best. That put the matter in context for me; everybody needs to take that message on board and learn the skills.
The first and foremost skill that everyone should learn is to dial 999, because no matter how honed one’s CPR skills are, a person can continue that only for a short time before assistance is needed. We need to get those very basic messages through to people.
Young people who are leaving care are sometimes taught those skills. Although that is important, it is equally important to teach the skills to all our young people, so that they know the basics, know to phone 999 and know to get involved. They should also be braver at picking up some of the information that comes to us through public campaigns.
We are all aware of the British Heart Foundation’s “Stayin’ Alive” campaign on hands-on CPR. However, people get confused and wonder what they should be doing during an incident. We therefore should have clear messages that join up all first aid training and public health information, so that people know what to do.
Another very useful campaign was the National Advisory Committee on Stroke’s FAST—“Face. Arms. Speech. Time”—campaign about helping people identify strokes. People often see people who are suffering a stroke and think that they are drunk or tired. The FAST campaign showed people how to check for the signs of a stroke and sought to give them the right tools, so that they would feel a bit braver about intervening, and to make them aware of the need to get help, because getting help quickly is vital to everybody in a first aid situation.
There are also community resilience campaigns; for example, the Scottish Ambulance Service is installing defibrillators in the community. I am also aware that local general practitioners are helping communities to raise funds and are training people how to use the defibrillators, which can save lives.
I welcome the debate for those reasons. I very much hope that St Andrew’s achieves its target of 34,000 signatures. I hope that its campaign will also raise awareness and that more people will be encouraged to take on the skills and save lives as a result.
17:18
I thank James Dornan for bringing to the chamber the motion to congratulate St Andrew’s First Aid on its count me in campaign. As a lifelong scout, I know the importance of the phrase, “Be prepared.” That simple motto can serve as a life lesson for us all—to be prepared for good times, victories and triumphs, but also to be prepared for defeat, sickness and injury. In times of personal injury—of any sort—being prepared can mean the difference between life and death.
When a household accident occurs, many Scots’ first instinct is to call 999, as it should be in the event of a true emergency. However, it is important to know the difference between what is and is not an emergency. Every year, 34,000 Scots are admitted to hospitals after falls, choking, burns and other common accidents. Although they can result in serious injuries, many such cases could have been sorted out or received initial care with basic first aid. Those 34,000 patients are being treated instead of the victims of more serious accidents or medical conditions.
Unfortunately, most Scots just do not know that many accidents are treatable at home, in part because only 23 per cent of Scots are trained in basic first aid procedures. If awareness is raised of the importance and value of first aid training, Scots can become more self-reliant and can take a serious burden off hospitals.
That is where St Andrew’s First Aid comes in. In the lead-up to first aid week, St Andrew’s First Aid has launched its count me in campaign, which, according to the organisation’s website,
“is aimed at building awareness that First Aid saves lives.”
The centrepiece of the campaign is:
“No one should die because they needed First Aid and didn’t get it.”
In its pursuit of that goal, St Andrew’s First Aid is seeking 34,000 signatures—one for each of the Scots who are admitted to hospital each year for common injuries that require emergency attention, but who could have initially received first aid assistance. Furthermore, the campaign seeks to educate the 77 per cent of Scots who are not trained in basic first aid procedures on how crucial it is to learn such skills.
As the leading provider of work-related first aid training in Scotland, St Andrew’s First Aid provides a wide variety of services that relate to first aid accreditation. It has a series of downloadable materials for small business owners, hospitality managers, employees and other members of any business to help guide people towards enrolment in first aid training.
St Andrew’s First Aid is particularly concerned with the Scottish hospitality industry, in which last year more than 500 workers received an injury that kept them off work for at least three days. In restaurants alone, 205 cooking and serving-related accidents were recorded last year. One in 10 Scots say that they have witnessed a medical emergency in a hotel, restaurant or other entertainment venue, and one in 16 have needed medical assistance for injuries that they themselves have sustained. St Andrew’s First Aid seeks to create a more resilient Scotland—one in which hospitality workers and people in their homes do not have to fear for their safety in the event of an accident and do not unnecessarily burden the emergency medical services.
I know first hand the importance of first aid training. As a scout leader and a lifelong scout, I teach my scouts to be prepared for anything. I have been first aid certified since I was 18 years old, and I often help young scouts to acquire their first aid badges. When we go on camping trips in the summer, it is important to have someone who can respond to such unfortunate situations. I am proud to be one of the few who can, but I wish that it were not such an exclusive group.
I urge Scots everywhere to get first aid certified. As someone who has experienced the positive benefits of first aid training up close in various situations in which I have had to take action to help my family and friends, I can assure members that it is worth the time that it takes to do. I congratulate St Andrew’s First Aid on its efforts in its everyday work and its count me in campaign, and I hope that the organisation knows that I am a huge supporter of its work.
17:22
I apologise for the fact that I will have to leave the chamber before the end of the debate, because I have to convene another meeting elsewhere in the building.
I congratulate James Dornan on securing what I understand is his fifth members’ business debate since he was elected two and a half years ago. That in itself is some achievement in comparison with the 10 members’ business debates that I have secured in 10 years—perhaps the whips in his party look more favourably on him than those in mine do on me.
To be serious, James Dornan has again secured recognition of St Andrew’s first aid week. We marked the event last year and we are doing so again this evening. I make no criticism of that—indeed, I believe that such an important issue as first aid should be championed each year—but I apologise if I reiterate some of the points that I made in a previous debate.
This year’s debate focuses on the count me in campaign, which is a great initiative to raise the profile of first aid by recruiting 34,000 signatories to match the 34,000 people who are admitted to hospital each year as a result of household injuries or accidents who would not have required hospital treatment had others been around who had basic first aid training.
The point that is made in the motion is acutely relevant when we consider the pressure on our emergency services and the fact that the NHS constantly has to examine ways of making financial savings. If more individuals undertook training in first aid, that would alleviate some of the strains that are put on our front-line services.
The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body offers first aid training and has an impressive record of providing first aid supplies on every floor and in every department in the Parliament building, as well as trained staff.
Last year, I spoke about an episode that happened when my son was a small boy—he almost choked on a golf tee. Fortunately, through my medical background as an anaesthetist, I recognised the symptoms of a blocked airway and knew exactly how to dislodge the object. I think that all people—particularly parents—should be aware of how to deal with situations such as the one that I have described. A knowledge of basic first aid procedures, such as how to stop bleeding, how to maintain an airway and how to position someone who is unconscious to ensure that they do not inhale vomit, can be life saving.
First aid is a vital skill. People can save lives by performing simple procedures, following certain guidelines and giving basic treatment until professional medical help arrives. Time and again we read and hear about people who have survived cardiac arrest because someone with the appropriate knowledge was present and able to maintain circulation and a clear airway until professional help arrived.
There is also an argument for extending basic first aid training to include conditions such as epilepsy so that people can deal with seizures, and simple advice such as not to restrain the person who is having the seizure, to remain calm and to encourage everyone around to do the same should be taught to many more people than it is at present. Although we should never be prescriptive, more widespread teaching of first aid in our schools would benefit all and act as a positive influence on young people throughout Scotland.
As we know, the culmination of St Andrew’s first aid week is the now annual Scottish first aid awards. Last year I said that one of my constituents, Phil Glennie from Braemar mountain rescue team, had been shortlisted for the private sector business award for his enthusiastic delivery of quality first aid instruction to a number of groups including the scouts and the girl guides and young people in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. In case members did not know, I am pleased to report that Phil Glennie won the award.
I wish all those who have been nominated for this year’s award the very best of luck and hope that, whether they win or not, they enjoy the awards event at the Sheraton hotel. I commend them and all first aiders for their tremendous work across Scotland and hope that the recognition of their achievements will encourage many more people to follow in their footsteps.
17:26
I am pleased to speak in this members’ business debate and congratulate James Dornan on securing it. St Andrew’s First Aid’s campaign is really important and, if members do not mind, I will read the entire pledge into the Parliament’s Official Report. It says:
“No one should die because they needed First Aid and didn’t get it. I pledge to support St Andrew’s First Aid and the First Aid Count Me In campaign. I am supporting the campaign because I believe in the value of First Aid and acknowledge that it is a vital life-saving skill. It is really important to have champions of First Aid in local communities and by signing this campaign I am demonstrating my support for First Aid. Together we can save lives.”
That is such an interesting and indeed beautifully put together pledge that everyone should be willing to support it. I certainly have pledged my support for the campaign.
It is worth mentioning that GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, Clyde 1 radio, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and Young Scot are partners in the campaign. I am particularly keen about the involvement of Young Scot because, as James Dornan has made clear, St Andrew’s First Aid is very much about its volunteers, who play a vital role in disseminating information to young people and supporting young volunteers. Both Nanette Milne and David Torrance mentioned the scouts; indeed, I received my first-ever first aid training as a member of one of the uniformed youth organisations, and the young people in the scouts or in voluntary award schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme who are getting first aid skills are doing a great service to each other, their friends and our country.
Interestingly, the 34,000 target for signatures equates to the number of people who are admitted to hospital as a result of household accidents. Perhaps I can give the chamber a little bit of a breakdown of that 34,000 figure by highlighting the 2011 figures for two ends of the spectrum. In the under-5s group, there were 3,182 admissions to hospital, the majority of which were for accidents that happened in their homes, while in the over-65s, there were 21,196 admissions to hospital, many of which were, again, the result of accidents in their own homes. In the latter group, there were very few admissions as a result of road traffic accidents; most were the result of trips and falls, which we know to be a significant problem in our ageing population.
These figures, however, are just the tip of the iceberg, because they show only those who were admitted to hospital. Far more people who are injured have to attend their general practitioner or other types of emergency services and are not admitted to accident and emergency departments. Perhaps their injuries are not as serious, but they will certainly have experienced significant discomfort and upset from them.
At lunch time today, I chaired a meeting of the cross-party group in the Scottish Parliament on accident prevention and safety awareness. Obviously, we look at issues relating to preventing accidents, and that is partly about educating people. We know that, when people are educated about the risks and dangers around them, their risk-taking behaviour reduces. If we are undertaking to improve people’s knowledge of first aid and to get them to understand the dangers around them in their homes and as they go about their daily business, that education alone will let us as a society understand better the dangers that we face and, I hope, improve the outcomes for our young and elderly people.
17:30
I, too, congratulate James Dornan on securing time for this debate, which gives us an opportunity to congratulate St Andrew’s First Aid on the work that it does in general and, in particular, its latest campaign during first aid week this year.
I got my first first aid certificate with St Andrew’s First Aid when I was in the scouts, as David Torrance did. The scouts and other uniformed organisations do a fantastic job in helping to support young people to recognise the value of first aid. Over the years when I was involved in mountain rescue, I completed various mountain first aid courses, which usually had to be reassessed every three years, and I have witnessed first hand how good-quality first aid can save lives. It can also help to reduce further injury to someone who is already injured. Its value cannot be overestimated.
As Nanette Milne mentioned in her contribution, there was a debate to celebrate the 2012 campaign this time last year. Then, there was a focus on whether loved ones, whether or not they know much about first aid, would be able to give someone the kiss of life should circumstances arise in which that would be appropriate.
It is good to be able to recognise the work of St Andrew’s First Aid and to help it to promote its message on helping to save lives. I also recognise the valuable contribution that it, with other organisations, will make in 2014, which will be a significant year. In that year, which will be a hugely exciting time for Scotland, the eyes of the whole world will be watching us, with the Commonwealth games taking place in Glasgow, the Ryder cup and the year of homecoming. I have absolutely no doubt that the organisers of those events will work with a range of first aid organisations to ensure that they are effectively covered with first aid support.
From the Scottish Government’s perspective, the Scottish Ambulance Service is clearly at the heart of the issue in providing immediate emergency care. It works closely with a whole range of partners to support wider community provision, including voluntary organisations such as St Andrew’s First Aid.
In last year’s debate, which celebrated first aid week 2012, I mentioned some of the important work that goes on in local communities, including that by community first responders, who can provide vital early support prior to an ambulance arriving in the course of an emergency—that is particularly important in some of our more remote areas—and the community resuscitation development officers, who recruit and train community members to provide such care. I also mentioned the public access defibrillators in a range of locations, which Rhoda Grant referred to, supported by local training and awareness of how they can be used and where they are located, and the first aid training that takes place in schools and community groups.
All of those things support the bigger objective of delivering better outcomes and experiences for those who require support from first aid at a particular time. They can also help to reduce the need for someone to be admitted to hospital and help to support and create greater resilience in communities, particularly some of our more rural and dispersed communities. First aid training is hugely important to supporting our communities.
As an organisation, the Scottish Government has a range of first aiders within the workplace. There is a network of first aiders across all the Government’s offices and they are usually trained by St Andrew’s First Aid. To date, the Scottish Government has 251 trained volunteers in its offices.
Members might recall the campaign that was run last year by the British Heart Foundation that had a television advert featuring Vinnie Jones. When someone suddenly collapses and is not breathing normally and is unresponsive, they might have suffered a cardiac arrest. The advert advised members of the public not to worry about giving the kiss of life during CPR but to concentrate on giving good, fast chest compressions to the tune of the Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive”. That was an innovative and fun way of getting across a serious message about helping to ensure that someone who has experienced cardiac arrest gets the necessary swift care.
Turning to the specific focus of the St Andrew’s First Aid week, I was interested to see the online pledge that is the focal point of this year’s campaign. The pledge seeks 34,000 signatures, one for each of the people each year who are taken to hospital for treatment in Scotland. We would like to see that number reduce dramatically. That can be achieved by awareness raising and accident prevention in the home, the garden and the community as a whole.
The Scottish Government and a range of partners that we work with recognise the importance of encouraging young people to have fun and explore without wrapping them up in cotton wool. However, it is important that we ensure that parents, friends and carers are confident about dealing with the scrapes and bumps that can happen when children get involved in different activities. That is why the Scottish Government works with a range of organisations, such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, Barnardo’s and Volunteer Development Scotland, which all have different initiatives to help to support young people, parents and carers to have the right skills to deal with those who have accidents.
I offer the Government’s and my personal thanks for the work that first aiders across Scotland do day in, day out. Their dedication and efforts should, rightly, be recognised because they provide an extremely important service in our society. I also offer my congratulations to all those who will be recognised at the first aid awards this Saturday.
I finish with a challenge: we should all go home tonight and suggest to someone we know, someone who lives with us or a friend that, if they do not have basic first aid skills, they might want to look into getting them, because we never know when they might be required.
Meeting closed at 17:38.Previous
Point of Order