Parents in York offered life-saving class (From York Press)
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Parents in York offered life-saving class
2:20pm Wednesday 27th May 2009 in Search
By Nicola Fifield, Senior reporter
Craig Ward, left, from First Rescue and Andy Shields, who are to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to help raise money for Guardian Angels
PARENTS can help boost the coffers of a York charity by signing up to a First Aid course to learn the skills that could save their child’s life.
York adventurer Andy Shield has organised the one-day training course to raise funds for the Guardian Angels children’s high-dependency unit at York Hospital.
The 29-year-old, who will travel to Tanzania, in Africa, this autumn to climb the 5,895-metre summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, hopes parents, grandparents and guardians will all sign up to the course at Oakland’s sports centre, in Acomb, on June 27.
It will be delivered by two instructors from the Tadcaster-based company, First Rescue, which is approved by the Health and Safety Executive.
The company has offered to run the course for free, meaning the £30 fee will go straight to Guardian Angels, with participants also receiving a free First Aid kit and manual worth around £15.
Andy, who works as an early years training team manager for City of York Council, said: “This is a great way to support a local charity while getting a valuable skill at the same time.
“Parents will be taught important first aid skills for when accidents happen around the home, or when they are out and about.
“The more people who are First Aid-aware the better, and I’m sure that all parents attending this course will go away feeling a lot more confident and will have much better peace of mind in knowing these skills.”
The six-hour session will include training on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), allergic reactions, bleeding and shock, choking, meningitis, poisoning, bites and stings, burns, minor head injuries and basic treatment of fractures.
Each parent will receive a certificate valid for three years on completion of the course.
To book a place on the course, phone Andy on 01904 553017, or email andy.shield@york.gov.uk
Dozens of children, suffering from conditions such as meningitis and respiratory problems, have been treated in the Guardian Angels unit since it opened last August.
It was funded entirely by The Press’s Guardian Angels Appeal, which reached its £300,000 target last October.
The appeal has now been given official charity status to enable fundraising to continue to help with the upkeep of the unit.
