First Aid Training in Schools

Speech by Bob Russell MP delivered to 10 Minute Rule Bill - Hansard on Wed 19th Nov 2003

That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require first aid training to be given to children in schools as part of the National Curriculum.

The Bill would save many hundreds of lives every year, produce annual savings to the national health service of hundreds of millions of pounds and result in a better quality of life for all age groups throughout the land. It is a modest Bill with anything but a modest outcome: lives saved; money saved. Whatever the cost of providing first-aid training in schools, it would be petty cash compared with the huge financial dividend that would be generated for the public purse and it would save lives every day.

I acknowledge that teachers have a heavy work load and that many people in education feel that the national curriculum is already over-burdened. However, my Bill would not add to the burden of individual teachers unless they were already qualified first-aiders, because first-aid training would be undertaken by qualified first-aiders drawn from wider society, primarily volunteer members of St. John Ambulance and the Red Cross. I pay tribute to both organisations and to other voluntary groups that provide first-aid cover at a wide range of events, many of which would not take place if their organisers could not afford to buy in medical cover.

First-aid groups could do with more volunteers. Over time, my Bill would create a large pool of qualified first-aiders from which, it is hoped, many would become volunteers with St. John Ambulance and the Red Cross. In the short term, it is possible that there may be insufficient qualified first-aiders to train every child in school, so I realise that it may be necessary for the Bill's implementation to be phased, but the sooner the better in as many schools as it is possible to recruit qualified first-aiders to commence training.

My Bill sets out the framework. The precise details of implementation will emerge as a result of consultation with all the relevant bodies, including such considerations as what should be taught at what age group, the frequency of the training and so on. Today I am talking about the principle of the Bill.

I am grateful to St. John Ambulance, whose personnel have helped me to prepare my Bill. It believes that everyone should have life-saving skills, and it stresses that that could be achieved over time if everyone learned first aid at school. St. John says that currently fewer than 10 per cent. of schoolchildren in England are taught first aid-in many cases by teachers who have been trained by St. John, using materials provided by St. John Ambulance. That training, however, is purely at the discretion of the school and there is no obligation to provide first-aid training. My Bill would make it a requirement.

What I propose is not revolutionary. There are already aspects of the national curriculum in England that enable schools to teach first aid. St. John Ambulance's young lifesaver award links to the personal, social and health education syllabuses at both key stages 2 and 3, and to the citizenship syllabuses for key stages 3 and 4. The most direct link is probably with key stage 3, at which pupils should be taught basic emergency aid procedures and where to get help and support. That is better than nothing, but just think how much better it would be for all concerned if all children were taught first aid throughout their school years, starting as young as five, when they might learn how to react to a nosebleed, and continuing through to their early teens, when resuscitation could be accomplished.

The national healthy school standard says that, as a minimum, a school should provide opportunities for all pupils to develop health skills in relation to first aid. My Bill would take that concept forward and make it a requirement.

I am delighted to inform the House that in my constituency the Thomas Lord Audley school and language college has proposals, announced only last week, to establish a first aid club. Students would aim to get a recognised certificate from either the Red Cross or St. John Ambulance. It is felt that

"students will feel empowered, capable, confident, safety aware (especially when working in workshops)".

It is also felt that the training would relate to existing curriculum subjects, ranging from modular science to food technology and from biology to physical education.

That school can see the wider benefits that first-aid training produces. If every school had first-aid training as part of the national curriculum, the benefits to the nation would be immense. Mr. Mark Allan of Colchester St. John Ambulance told me that

"first aid training gives young people life skills and confidence, making them better citizens".

St. John Ambulance nationally trains 250,000 people every year in first-aid skills. Free first-aid training has been offered to teachers in the past. Each year, a number of schools at primary and secondary levels participate in the St. John Ambulance national schools first aid competition. Thus the concept of first-aid training in schools is not new.

I opened my speech by saying that hundreds of deaths could be prevented each year if qualified first-aiders were able to intervene. St. John Ambulance goes further and says that thousands of deaths could be prevented. Indeed, research has shown that perhaps 1,000 people a year who currently die as a result of injuries sustained in road crashes would be saved if first aid were applied before the arrival of paramedics. It is considered that a significant proportion of the 300,000 people who die from heart attacks would have a much-increased chance of survival if first aid could be applied at an early stage.

Alongside the important saving of lives, first-aid training would also reduce visits to overstretched accident and emergency departments by people whose injuries did not warrant hospital attention, and likewise reduce visits to doctors' surgeries if a qualified first-aider could more easily and more quickly deal with such minor matters at home or at their place of work. A pack of frozen peas placed on a sprained ankle is more appropriate than sitting in an A and E department for hours-a fact confirmed to me by family doctor Chris Hall, the current mayor of Colchester.

St. John Ambulance has made the following statement:

"Apart from the obvious benefit of equipping children with life-saving skills, first aid training in schools has other positive effects. The training promotes good citizenship. It also raises awareness of accident prevention issues as well as equipping pupils with the skills to be able to cope with accident and emergency situations should these arise, making the school environment a safer place and building confidence in young people."

I would go further and say that first-aid training in schools from an early age would make children more aware of what makes their body work-what is good for it and what is bad for it. Obesity is a growing problem, literally, with the number of obese children increasing every year and more children suffering from diabetes as a consequence. Asthma is also on the increase. Today's young people are, collectively, less fit than their parents and grandparents were at the same age. For the first time in 100 years, we are looking at the prospect of falling life expectancy. A medical time-bomb is ticking away. Unless urgent action is taken, today's schoolchildren will suffer heart, mobility and breathing problems at an earlier age than is currently the case, throwing ever more burdens on the national health service.

If youngsters were involved in first-aid training as part of the national curriculum, it would make them more aware of the need for healthy food and healthy lifestyles. It would hopefully discourage involvement with illegal drugs, smoking and binge drinking. It would certainly lead to greater personal awareness-social inclusion would be achieved.

My Bill is all about saving lives and improving the lives of today's children. I commend it to the House.