Report by Tim Cozens
What to do on a wet Tuesday evening in March I hear you say – how about our annual session on AED training ?
We were lucky to have a Sport Council grant for some safety equipment and one of the items we bought was a Defibtech automated external defibrillation (AED) machine. We are fortunate to have a health professional (Alan) as a club member and he was keen to respond to the risk presented by the ageing profile of the club members and to have an AED available on the club rib or any other boat the club may use on trips.
Alan has made the club aware of the need for regular training in the use of the AED as well as CPR techniques and the various updates in the protocols. Therefore, the club arranges an annual training session and uses a mock-up of the RIB (a tape outline on the floor) for the practical training. Obviously not quite a lumpy sea and drier than the RIB but it provides a useful reminder of the constricted space available.
So Tuesday, 27th March found us all on the floor of the Football Club in Banstead in a pretend boat giving CPR to a little lady called Anni and zapping her with an AED. It is good to practice these skills, hopefully never having to use them, and we are very grateful to Alan for keeping us up-to-date and being willing to lead these enjoyable and informative sessions.
