CPR and administering an Epipen among vital first aid skills taught to Brunstsfield Primary pupils

Pupils from Bruntsfield Primary have become ‘Tiny Medics’ after taking part in a potentially live-saving first aid training workshop at their school.

Youngsters from primary five, six and seven, took part in the ‘Tiny Medics’ workshop run by First Stop Safety Training UK (FSSTUK) on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

‘Tiny Medics’ is aimed at teaching kids from the age of three to 16 years how to perform first aid. The workshop content varies depending on the age of the attendees - making lessons age appropriate.

Bruntsfield Primary pupils have been taught some vital first aid skills through the Tiny Medics programme.

Sean and Robyn Duffy, who set up and run FSSTUK, said: “Tiny Medics has been running since February. So far we have managed to train a variety of young people as well as parents and nursery staff across the east coast of Scotland.

“If children learn now, then they will absorb the information due to their age and it means we do not necessarily have to train them when they are older. It may well be putting us out of work at a later date, but if it means more first aiders within society then we are all for it.”

Over the course of the workshop, pupils learned: how to call for help, CPR (checking for response), recovery position, how to administer an Epipen for allergies and how to dress cuts and wounds as well as burns.

Primary seven teacher, Emma McLachlan, Primary,said: “The real focus is to get the children at an early stage so that they are confident in carrying out first aid. If everyone gets the experience then it is a huge advantage for societyto have young people trained.

“With learning CPR so young, it introduces the pupils to the importance of the heart and reinforces the importance of looking after it as you get older.”

The repetitive nature of the workshops continuously reinforced the key learning aspects of each demonstration. Throughout each element the children were engaged and focused whilst all taking a turn to practice performing CPR, dressing wounds or administering an Epipen.

Susie Cavaghan, primary seven pupil, said: “It is very important because most school children don’t have much experience with first aid and they need to know this stuff in the future in case something bad happens.”

Oli Lunn, who is also in his final year at Bruntsfield Primary, said: “It is really good to learn these life skills just in case something goes wrong when we are there.”

In Norway, since first aid training was made mandatory in schools, the country has seen a subsequent drop of five percent in out of hospital cardiac arrest deaths.

It is to be made mandatory for school children in England to be first aid trained by 2020. A policy that the Scottish government has said they will hold a vote on in the near future.

However, with decreasing school budgets, groups like FSSTUK are finding it increasingly difficult to get into schools to deliver their workshops. It is believed that Bruntsfield parents council fundraised so that the workshop could be delivered to the upper classes of the school.