Getting Wicklow RNLI lifeboat to a casualty and getting them home is the basis of what Lifeboat volunteers do, but when there is an ill or injured person to care for, what kind of training do RNLI have for that?
A group of eleven of volunteer crew took on the challenge of learning the skills, procedures and techniques required to pass the RNLI’s rigorous Casualty Care training course. They gave up approximately 30 hours of their time over the course of two weeks to enable them to complete the training successfully. Wicklow RNLI welcomed Stephen O’Flaherty of RNLI Casualty Care Trainer to the station to conduct the training.
A group of eleven Wicklow RNI crew took on the challenge of learning the skills, procedures and techniques required to pass the RNLI’s rigorous Casualty Care training course
The course is designed to enable crew to provide correct and effective care to a casualty until such time as they can be handed over to the expert care of paramedics or doctors.
Sometimes the care given takes place in hostile and unrelenting conditions adding an extra layer of complexity to the training required by volunteers.
The training revolves around hands on practical applications rather than concentrating on complex theory. The RNLI employ the use of check cards to assist its volunteers in carrying out the proper care. This allows the crew to concentrate on the practical application of Casualty Care without having to try and remember complex procedures in the middle of a difficult rescue.
During the training each crewmember must pass practical and written assessments to demonstrate their own individual skills. The final part of the assessments involves the crewmembers working in pods together to asses and treat a casualty in a practical scenario.
