1st Aid Training, Glasgow Climbing Centre. 5th-6th September 2012

1st aid courses are something that I normally try to avoid, not because I find them gory, but I find they can be quite intense as there is normally quite a lot to cover in such a short period of time. Over the years I have completed many 1st aid courses mainly due to my occupation as a cable puller and cable jointer. The vast majority of these courses have been quite site specific, chemical, nuclear and electrical based for example. They have all had a tendency  to be very intense and to the point with little or no humour.

The Glasgow Climbing Centre (Photo: A J Thorley)

Arriving at the Glasgow Climbing Centre (GCC) at 8.45 I was greeted by the centre manager Rob Watts. A very friendly fella that pointed me in the direction of GCC cafe for a coffee before things started. Over coffee the other candidates arrived and soon everybody was correct and present. Rob came up and introduced himself and then gave us all a guided tour of the GCC before taking us to the conference room down stairs. We were all asked to introduce ourselves and explain a little bit about why we had an interest in completing a 1st aid course.

Once the introductions were over Rob quickly got on with delivering the course. Starting off with explaining what the REC 1st Aid course was about and who it was for. I would have to say I found his delivery very clear, friendly and helpful. He had no problems with explaining things further or answering more detailed questions regarding certain aspects of the course. If there was something you were not too clear about he would  happily run through it again. The morning session was mainly a power point presentation but things became more hands on after lunch with the dreaded manikins coming out. We spent a good amount of time on CPR. Yet again Rob was very helpful clearing up any questions and taking the time to go through things on a one to one basis with those that were new to 1st aid techniques. Following on from this Rob then let us loose in the GCC to do some scenario work at 1st in the bouldering area and then the main climbing area. This part of the course was great fun and very relaxed with all candidates thoroughly enjoying it. The day ended with a de-brief and if we wanted to we were welcome to stay at the GCC and climb.

Back Wall Area, Glasgow Climbing Centre (Photo: A J Thorley)

The following day we all met in the conference room and Rob started things swiftly. 1st off was a refresher of CPR techniques which like the previous day we spent a long time doing. Then using a power point presentation we were all involved in discussing various scenarios and how to deal with them. After our morning break we all went to the local park for more hands on scenarios. This was done in an informal friendly way and it turned out to be great fun. Rob certainly has an active imagination. We returned to the GCC late afternoon and yet again Rob took the time to recap and go through things again.  Rob also took the time to answer more questions relating to more specific injuries and then gave us the final de-brief.

Competition Wall, Glasgow Climbing Centre (Photo: A J Thorley)

I found the course to very informative and easy to understand. It was delivered in a relaxed manner which helped everybody enjoy the course. I would certainly recommend this training course to anybody involved in outdoor sports, either instructing or participating. Thanks Rob it was great fun.