Ralph Clark never thought he’d have the skills or confidence to be able to help in the event of an emergency, until he completed the First Minutes Matter trauma training workshop.
“I got so much out of it, confidence in particular, that if I do come across some kind of emergency now, I feel confident that I do have the skills that could make a difference and even save somebody’s life.”
The retiree is one of thousands of people now armed with critical and potentially life-saving skills, thanks to the course designed by the medical professionals who work on board the iconic blue and yellow RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopters.
First Minutes Matter trauma training is a free community safety education program offered online and in-person by LifeFlight Australia’s most senior first response medical training experts.
Following the launch of the program in late 2021, and over 70 in-person workshops hosted across Queensland, First Minutes Matter trauma training is being hailed as a huge success.
“We’ve had great success with the program; we’ve far exceeded expectations in terms of workshops and online registrations, due to demand and the success and ease of the program,” said LifeFlight Paramedic and First Minutes Matter Trainer Craig Blick.
More than 3,400 every-day Queenslanders are now better equipped to help during the initial, crucial minutes following a traumatic incident; almost 2,700 have registered to undertake the online training program, while others chose to complete one of the five and a half hour in-person sessions.
LifeFlight is bringing a series of workshops to this region, to educate even more community members.
Past workshop participant Ralph Clark is encouraging locals to sign up.
“I think it’s critical, especially for people in regional areas, to learn these skills because, I’ll put it bluntly, it can mean the difference between life and death,” he said.
“If the opportunity is there for anybody to partake in a course like this, I say grab it with both hands, sign up the moment you hear about it. It is so well worthwhile and you get so much out of it.”
The idea to create First Minutes Matter trauma training for the public came from LifeFlight’s aeromedical crew members, who know patient outcomes are dramatically improved by actions taken in the first minutes after an incident, before emergency crews arrive.
“As a paramedic, I understand the CBD and larger communities are well catered for in terms of paramedical response, but it is the direct opposite when we go to the remote communities,” said Craig Blick.
“So it’s really important for us to be heading out to these regional communities and educate them on what to do while they’re waiting for an ambulance, police, fire and rescue or even the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter.”
“These teachings make a huge difference. The topics that we choose to teach are aimed at those real-life threats that can happen and we can teach people the basic skills, so that we can help save lives and we know that’s happening,” he said.
During the free, in-person workshops, LifeFlight first response medical training experts share invaluable knowledge for dealing with trauma incidents including seizures, choking, burns, bleeding, snake bites and cardiac events.
The next series of in-person First Minutes Matter workshops are scheduled:
- Miles – 12th September
- St George – 13th September
- Surat – 14th September
Register at – firstminutesmatter.org.au for the workshops, or the online course.