A TRAINING event aims to give specific first-aid tips to farmers.

The H&H Group is launching a course intended to help people through what they should do in an emergency, and provide practical scenario-based training to lead farmers through various incidents that could happen in a farm environment.

Being delivered by qualified doctors and paramedics, along with student paramedics from Cumbria University, the course will include potential real-life scenarios such as:

n Treatment of crush injury from quad bike / trampled by cattle

n Severe bleeding due to amputation

n Impalement on equipment such as baler spike

n How to assess non-responsive casualties.

The event, First Aid for Farmers, will be held on Wednesday, December11, at Borderway Mart, Carlisle.

It is a joint safety support initiative devised in partnership with H&H Safety, Carrs Billington and Johnston Tractors. It is available to all farmers on a first-come-first served basis at £49.99 plus VAT.

This course has been driven by H&H non-executive director Colin Lindsay, a well-known Cumbrian vet. He said: “In the farming industry, we expose ourselves to danger daily, it is the nature of the job. Real life emergencies happen out in the field and they can be extremely serious.

“Sometimes, resultant injuries can not be fixed by basic first aid, but the actions that are taken whilst help is being sought can literally be the difference between life or death.”

The course is about what can be done to make a difference to the outcome in the first 15 to 30 minutes while an ambulance arrives.

Colin said: “When I was talking to a friend from the Army Medical Corps, we started to discuss whether we should be getting farmers up to speed on how to survive in a serious emergency.

“This led to us discussing practical advice such as how to do tourniquets and deal with head trauma or abdominal trauma as well as what sort of pocket trauma kit or medical kit would be needed on a tractor.”

For information go to safety@hhib.co.uk