How many times have you watched Casualty and wondered if you’d be able to keep your cool in a crisis? I know I’ve been petrified at the thought of someone collapsing in front of me and not knowing what to do. So I was keen to get involved when I saw the opportunity with the the British Red Cross Tesco Charity of the Year 2007, and enrolled on one of its first aid training courses that teach people the essentials they need to save a life.

Making the difference, potentially, between life and death isn’t to be taken lightly, so I was quite nervous when I arrived for training. But instructor Carrie put everyone at ease and we began with some practical theory on what to assess when helping someone and how to check for a response – often in emergencies you may need to act before an ambulance arrives.

Next came the tricky part – putting into practice what we’d just learned – but we were all keen to get stuck in and help each other out. Under the guidance of Carrie, who demonstrated how to carry out each step, we split into pairs. The hardest part was trying not to laugh while convincingly acting ‘unconscious’, as my partner looked for vital signs. Then she gently tilted my head back and lifted my chin to ensure my airway was open so I could breathe and, supporting my head, moved me on to my side into the recovery position.

Confident we had mastered these crucial techniques, we moved on to cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). I knew it meant giving mouth-to-mouth to a dummy but I didn’t have a clue what it involved. Again Carrie explained how to get blood flowing round the body by pressing down 4-5cm on the chest with two hands and administering 30 chest compressions. Then we had to tilt the dummy’s head, lift the chin and, pinching its nose to stop the air escaping, completely cover its mouth and blow two deep breaths in.

The course also covered how to deal with choking, heart attacks and minor injuries, and I couldn’t believe all it took was a couple of hours to get some key life-saving skills under my belt. Now I feel safe in the knowledge that, if I come across someone in trouble,
I can help.