Tackling skills fade

Applying a dressing

The difference that a competent and confident first aider can make when an accident occurs can be huge. Having enough people in your workplace with the skills to deal with situations competently is essential, and a legal requirement.

All being well, with a sound health and safety policy in place, your trained first aiders are not called into action very often. It's no surprise then, with requalification training only required three years after the initial training course,that first aiders' skills can get a bit rusty.

St John Ambulance commissioned external research into the issue of 'skills fade' so that we can ensure our training not only gives students the skills and confidence to cope in any situation, but that skill and confidence levels are maintained over the three years. The findings of the report are summarised below:

  • Basic life support (BLS) is a complex subject, consisting of up to 50 different learned skills
  • Recent simplification of procedures such as CPR has not necessarily led to improved skill retention over time
  • First aiders retain skills better after facilitated, relevant practical training, as opposed to lecture-style sessions
  • First aid competence is built up through a continuing process of learning, with regular refresher training
  • Deterioration in first aid skills has been recognised as a concern for many years. The general consensus among experts is that refresher training should occur every six to 12 months
  • The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation issued guidelines for the training of lay people in BLS, recommending that initial training must always include specific plans for refresher training
  • First aid training should not be seen as a one-off event, but a regular engagement with the subject through a variety of means, including refresher training, advancing skills on other courses and access to online/digital training material. Only this way can skills fade be reduced.

St John Ambulance's professional trainers follow the latest teaching methodology to ensure that students gain as much practical and relevant experience on the course as possible. In addition to this:

  • there are never more than 12 students to each trainer, ensuring that everyone gets the appropriate one-to-one time
  • our CPR training involves no more than two students to one manikin, so practice time is maximised
  • our three-hour Annual refresher course keeps students skill levels and confidence high, whilst also providing the opportunity to learn of any updates to recommended procedures.

To find out more about skills fade, please email us and we will send you a copy of the full report or you can find out what courses we offer online or by calling us on 08700 10 49 50.