East Belfast Community Development Agency

The Health Development & Connections Programmes Health Team and their Lay Health Information Workers in conjunction with British Red Cross/ British Heart Foundation delivered a basic awareness and first aid education programme to members of the Ballyoran Centre.   The participants challenged themselves to know what to do in an emergency to make a difference to a person's recovery and even save a life.  The more people know these skills the better.

Every year in the UK there 5.5 million attendances at Accident & Emergency departments for accidents. Of these, there are 3 million attendances of the types of accident and injury that first aid treatment can benefit.   N Ireland statistics a couple of years ago were 710,000 attended Accident & Emergency departments. 

The participants benefited from receiving information about a range of medical issues including choking, severe bleeding, heart attack and cardiac arrest.  The resources provided allowed for a very interactive session with time to practice CPR skills.