Some of our most popular and interesting training sessions in the past include:

Childbirth - not for the fainthearted or squeamish, for this session a Midwife who also volunteers with St John Ambulance, visited us and in great detail described the process of giving birth, and shared some of her most memorable stories and a very graphic video...

Trauma - Also not for the squeamish, we invited a doctor who regularly works on the Air Ambulance to come and share some stories and pictures of some of the things he has dealt with in his job.

Medical Gasses Awareness - This is an introduction to one of the higher skills a first aider can have without training to be an ambulance crew. While to be qualified to use Medical Gasses requires lots of experiance and a further course, this session is designed to teach the basics of how it works, and how you can help someone who is qualified give Oxygen and the pain relieving gas Entonox.

Peadiatrics - This is easily one of the most enjoyable sessions we have done at LINKS, a doctor with an interesting sense of humour who works in A+E with children goes through some of the common and more serious conditions of young children and babies. This ends with a clip show that you cant help but laugh at.

Radio Communications - This is an important skill for those who plan to join St John Ambulance and go out and cover events as uniformed First Aiders as Radios are our primary form of communication. This year I am hoping to get our Country Radio Officer to come and teach everyone how to do it properly, but if not it will be trained by your committee instead.

Fractures - This session contains a few clues to tell if there is a broken bone (without an xray!) and how to stabilise a possible fracture. It usually involves using lots of bandages and tying limbs together!