Welcome to the 1st Aid Site!
Everything First Aid Related...

Basic and Emergency First aid courses in Birmingham before the Army?

I joined the Army a few months ago and I'm going through the process at the minute. As I've joined as a Combat Medic, and I've got some time on my hands before I begin training, I thought getting in some experience would be great.

I've tried the St Johns Ambulance and the Red Cross, but they have nothing in Birmingham. Free would be preferable since I'm unemployed at the moment, but charges will be just fine. I'm not too sure where else to look and Google isn't being much help either. So, if anyone could suggest some places that do Basic and/or Emergency first aid training (or something similar that would be helpful with my chosen career) in Birmingham that's also open to the public, I'd be incredibly grateful.

Thanks.

Public Comments

1. http://birminghamnewsroom.com/?p=12146 I found this on google. If youre jioning the Army as a combat medic all the training is in house theres no real need to have any prior experience as there is a full course once you have passed basic training.

2. All you need to do is to kept fit, you will be fully trained by the Army

3. It`s not worth the expense or the papers the give out as certificates.
The training you will receive in the army is far more advanced than any civilian organisation can give you and that the includes the civilian Para-medics.
Medical training in the R.A.M.C doesn`t just consist of basic first aid,it also include diagnosis procedures, the prescribing on certain drugs and medicines, how to give intraveinous transfusions and above all the ability to be able to look after and treat casualties for possibly days on end when they can`t be tranferred to hospital facility due to combat and other problems.
You will also learn to improvise when you don`t the correct equipment available, how to rescue casualties safely when under fire.
The Royal Army Medical Corps combat medic is the best in the world due to they`re training and because the never have enough equipment.Unlike the rest of modern day armies they don`t have dedicated Helicopter units to move casualties and the ambulances are just basic landrovers with a box body stuck on the back.