The B-PSA is committed to the safety and welfare of its youth and adult membership - our child protection and safety policies and training support this commitment. We are also committed to empowering our membership to enjoy properly risk assessed and insured adventure. On occasions accidents, injuries and illnesses will occur in a Scouting environment, and it is therefore important that we have suitably qualified and confident First Aiders present.
With effect from 1st April 2016 our policy for the provision of 1st Aid will be:
- Weekly section meetings in an HQ or outdoors (in an environment within 15 minutes access of parents or professional medical assistance) should have at least one adult present who has an Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) certificate or higher.
- Camps and activities where professional medical assistance can be accessed in less than 30 minutes and are no more than 500 metres from buildings or a road which can be accessed by the emergency services. At least one adult present who has an Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) certificate or higher.
- Remotely supervised hikes, up to 1st Class journey standard. At least one adult in the remote supervision team who has an Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) certificate or higher. At least 2 members of the expedition who hold the Scout 1st Aid badge.
- A remote camp / activity or a hike (at a standard higher than 1st Class journey) where access to professional medical assistance is more than 30 minutes or where buildings or a road which can be accessed by the emergency services are more than 500 metres away. If Scouts / Senior Scouts are being remotely supervised, then at least 2 members of the party should hold the Ambulance Badge (equivalent to B-PSA Outdoor 1st Aid Certificate). At least two members of the supervising leader team should have a minimum of EFAW, and one of those should have completed the B-PSA outdoor 1st Aid Certificate or equivalent.
Our aim is to reach this level of provision much sooner, and the B-PSA offers free 1st Training adult members and Senior Scouts.
We have several qualified instructors who are providing this training on behalf of the Association, They will respond to requests either sent to them directly or through Area Commissioners to set up courses in a convenient location for the candidates. Each course can take a maximum of 12 candidates, and all efforts will be made to fill each course date set.
Our Trainers can offer two different course designs:
- A one day Emergency First Aid at Work course (EFAW) which is enhanced with the addition of topics outside the core syllabus but which have a relevance to Scouting activities. This course requires a minimum contact time of 6 hours. If required there is scope to extend the day to incorporate child protection training and risk assessment training.
- B-PSA outdoor 1st Aid Certificate. This is a two day, 16 hour contact time course. Day 1 is largely classroom based and covers EFAW as above. Day 2 is predominantly outdoors, and covers additional topics required for 1st Aid in remote access areas, and also contains a significant number of practical and relevant scenarios. An EFAW certificate is provided free of charge to adult members and at a cost of £6 to Senior Scouts if they require it. The content and design of this course meets the requirements of BCU and Mountain Training (currently being assessed by RYA), and can be certificated by ProTrainings Europe at a cost of £6 per person.
All 1st Aid training provided by our 1st aid training team is automatically added to our central database of leader training records. B-PSA recognises all equivalent training provided by external organisations, but requires that up to date certificates are scanned and sent to Sue Beadle (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) so that leader training records can be kept up to date.