LifeFlight trauma training workshops are coming soon
IN A Queensland first, LifeFlight Australia’s most senior Critical Care Doctors will educate members of the community on what they can do to help during the initial, crucial minutes of a traumatic incident.
First Minutes Matter Trauma Training is a free community safety education program offered online and in-person by LifeFlight’s experienced medical team.
“This is the most-significant community initiative undertaken by LifeFlight, since we first launched aeromedical helicopters into Queensland skies, more than 40 years ago,” said LifeFlight Australia Board Chairman Rob Borbidge AO.
Communities in the south west of the state are the first to have access to the inperson workshops.
The Toowoomba workshops were so popular, extra sessions were added to the calendar and now the workshops are moving to other regional areas:
Miles – October 6 Chinchilla – October 7 Dalby – October 8 Ipswich – October 27 Laidley – October 28 Gatton – October 29
* People can register for the in-person First Minutes Matter workshops at – www.firstminutesmatter.org.au/workshops
“The Darling Downs and the south west are our busiest region in terms of the aeromedical services that we provide from our bases there, so clearly it’s an area that we feel should be the first in the roll out because it’s an area of need. Unfortunately, it’s an area where there are lots of accidents and this program will complement the work being done by our normal services,” Mr Borbidge said.
The small workshops, delivered by LifeFlight medical staff, will focus on giving students the chance to practice their skills.
“We use mannequins, which is great for doing CPR and some other scenarios and we have all the consumables such as dressings so that people can actually get hands-on experience doing this,” LifeFlight Training Academy Medical Director Dr Duncan McAuley explained.
“Everyone should get an opportunity to really get one-to-one tuition doing some of these clinical skills. It’s the same kind of teaching that we do for the LifeFlight doctors and paramedics when they join.”
The idea to create First Minutes Matter Trauma Training, for the public, came from LifeFlight aeromedical crew members, who know patient outcomes are dramatically improved by actions taken in the first minutes after an incident, before emergency crews arrive.
“That’s the entire point of the First Minutes Matter program. We really want bystanders and people involved in accidents to be able to do lifesaving treatments, in a safe manner,” Dr McAuley said.
“We want them to be able to do some simple interventions that may not only save lives, which is a huge deal, but often doing these interventions makes a big difference down the line in someone’s medical care. It can take someone from being moderately sick, to less sick; moderately injured, to less injured – so it really can have significant downstream outcomes.”
The trauma training is possible thanks to the support of Shine Lawyers, the Founding Partner of the program.
“Shine Lawyers saw a natural synergy in our brands. We are both here to help people get back on their feet and get them the help that they need,” said Shine Lawyers Chief Operating Officer Jodie Willey.
“Patient outcomes are dramatically improved by those actions taken in the first few minutes, prior to emergency crews arriving. You can make a difference.”
In the free, self-paced, online program Dr McAuley, shares his invaluable knowledge for dealing with trauma incidents including seizures, choking, burns, bleeding, snake bites and cardiac events.
“I would encourage every Queenslander to sign up for this course. It is available online right now. First Minutes Matter is just like the helicopter service that we provide right across Queensland in that it’s completely free of charge. It’s going to be a great asset and addition to the service that LifeFlight’s been providing Queenslanders for so many decades,” Rob Borbidge said.
* In the 2020/2021 Financial Year, RACQ LifeFlight Rescue’s community helicopters, air ambulance jets and Critical Care Doctors performed 6733 lifesaving missions.