10 more become the difference

It’s not your usual pub activity, but on Monday 5 September The Rose and Crown in Sandridge became the setting for the first St John Ambulance and Get Fit and Give partnership first aid course.

The informal and relaxed atmosphere of the cosy village pub’s function room put the first aid students at their ease as they learnt how they could be the difference between a life lost and a life saved.

The session was held in order to further Get Fit and Give’s aim of helping people to make healthier lifestyle choices, by learning skills that will benefit them in the future in a supportive and relaxed environment. As well as to meet our own goal of teaching as many people as possible vital life-saving skills.

It also helped to raise funds for both St John Ambulance, and Get Fit and Give’s chosen charity for September-October, the British Heart Foundation.

Get Fit and Give Founder, Carol Campbell, said: ‘Our ethos at Get Fit and Give is that ‘everybody wins’. By taking part in this course, not only are the candidates raising money for two fantastic causes, but they are coming away with a St John Ambulance Essential first aid certificate and, more importantly, the practical skills and knowledge to put first aid into action.

‘It’s important to us that people feel comfortable taking part in something like this and the relaxed atmosphere here at the Rose and Crown has really helped. We hope it will encourage more people to consider taking part in the future. I’d like to say a big thank you to Sean for allowing us to use the function room tonight.’

St John Ambulance trainer and Berkhamsted division Unit Leader, Mick Mills, who took the course said: ‘At St John Ambulance our aim is to train as many people in first aid as possible and there’s no better way to do that than by reaching out into the heart of local communities. It’s really great to be able to work together with an organisation such as Get Fit and Give whose support has helped us to reach more people with these vital skills.

This September St John Ambulance is holding a nationwide first aid awareness month – Save a Life September – to encourage more people to learn essential first aid skills.

Mick added: ‘The fact is that every year 150,000 people die needlessly in situations where first aid could have given them the chance to live because people don’t have the confidence or the skills to put first aid to use.

‘None of us know whether we’ll be put in a situation where we might need these skills, but the ten people here tonight can now feel confident that if they found themselves in an emergency situation they'd have the knowledge and skills to deal with it, and potentially save someone’s life.’

Get Fit and Give and St John Ambulance aim to hold another first aid training session at the Rose and Crown in November in order to reach more local people.

Charlotte Parsons, who attended the course said: ‘I’d highly recommend it. The session was great fun, really practical, and we had a good laugh which I think has helped to make us all feel more comfortable with a pretty serious subject.

‘I never thought I’d spend my Monday evening rolling around on a pub floor but it has definitely helped me to learn some important skills and I’d feel much more confident dealing with an emergency now.’

Hot Office Business Centres Ltd, who have several offices based in the West Herts and East Bucks area, paid for several members of their staff team to take part in the session as part of their team’s personal development.

Sarah Keane from Hot Office said: ‘It has definitely been worth the money as we know it is going straight to two really great causes with St John Ambulance and the British Heart Foundation. It has helped us to bond more as a team, if anything happened in the office now we’d probably all be fighting with each other as to who was going to deal with it!’

The event raised £300 for the chosen charities and Get Fit and Give will continue to raise money for the British Heart Foundation over the next two months through their regular £3 social charity walks and other fundraisers.

If you’d like to find out more about the Get Fit and Give and St John Ambulance partnership please contact either Carol Campbell or Nicole Foulger.