I’d always had an interest in first aid, I even used to represent the civil service (East Midlands) at regional and national first aid competitions – quite successfully I might add. Together with Clare, we need to hold a minimum of Outdoor First Aid to ensure we are insured and equipped to work in the remit of a mountain leader and working with groups of people outdoors. Factor in that there seems to have been more medical incidents, and sadly deaths, since Covid and we felt the need to up the medical cover that we can provide on our own events.

FREC3 is the stepping stone into emergency care and it provides comprehensive training in pre-hospital emergency topics such as:

• Administration of emergency oxygen

• Management of trauma patients

• Handling major illnesses

A fully engaging, hands on week with Rich Medical Solutions at Atherstone saw us learn, absorb, test and task with a variety of scenarios. The final test being an RTC featuring a van and motorbike crash, the rain soaked car park making the blood spread alarmingly over the scene. (Theatrical blood I hasten to add). Working together as though we would in real life, Clare and I made the correct decisions and battled freezing hands to tie, tourniquet, lift and carry the hapless casualty into the relative warmth of an ambulance where we could carry out a secondary survey and continue stabilising techniques ahead of the journey to hospital.

To further reinforce the skills and capabilities, Clare and I have now signed up with a number of event medics to provide cover at sporting and leisure events across the UK. Wherever you see us, we’ve got you covered! Hopefully you won't need us in a real life scenario though.