The success of first aid courses offered by St John and the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) has prompted further training to be scheduled.

Traditionally attended by nursery staff and child-minders, these half day courses have been  extended to include expectant, and new parents, who are taught essential lifesaving skills for infants and toddlers. This provides them with the knowledge to deal with a broad range of emergency situations from choking to resuscitation.

The success of the three hour courses during the spring and earlier summer has prompted additional dates to be scheduled.

Managing Director of Training Services at St John, Steve Ford, said: ‘we strongly believe that if you’re a parent, grandparent, a carer or if you work with children, learning first aid will give you the confidence to save a life when it really counts. Steve added that new parents are also being encouraged to bring their infants along to some of the session too.

‘We want parents to be armed with the right skills and knowledge for dealing with situations that they may encounter, so bringing their own child to the course is a really good way of giving them the confidence to deal with a whole range of different conditions and techniques. This includes knowing how to put a child or infant in the recovery position if they are unresponsive but breathing, to giving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if they’re not,’ he said.

NCT Guernsey first aid coordinator, Laura Milford, said: ‘what to do in an emergency is something that comes up a lot in conversation at our NCT groups.’

‘This ongoing partnership with St John means that our parents will have the knowledge and confidence to deal with an emergency if they have to through this formal training, and we are really pleased with the take-up so far.’

The next course will take place at Les Cotils on 01 October and cost £50 per parent – places can be booked via nctgsyfirstaid@hotmail.com