Thousands of Queenslanders around the state are now equipped with the skills needed to help during the initial, crucial minutes following a traumatic incident, thanks to a LifeFlight trauma training program, which started in Toowoomba.
First Minutes Matter trauma training is a free community safety education program offered online and in-person by LifeFlight Australia’s most senior Critical Care Doctors and Flight Paramedics.
After its first year of delivery and almost 30 in-person workshops hosted across Queensland, the program is being hailed a huge success.
Communities in the Toowoomba region were the first to have access to the in-person workshops, following the launch in late 2021 and now the program is returning to its home base.
“We’ve chosen to go back out to the Toowoomba region because we’ve had such strong demand from these communities and we recognise that we need to get back to these communities and keep educating people so we can continue to save lives,” said LifeFlight Paramedic and First Minutes Matter Trainer Craig Blick.
“With the LifeFlight Toowoomba helicopter base marked as the busiest base year on year, in terms of the aeromedical service that we provide, it’s only natural that we come back to the region to continue to educate the community.”
Retired nurse, Jayne Davidson, attended one of the first in-person trauma training workshops in the Toowoomba region to brush up on her skills.
Just days later, she found herself using the new skills she had learnt from the course, to assist an elderly man who was injured after being pinned under a tree he had been trying to cut down.
“He was in a lot of pain, very distressed and hyperventilating, and I remember when I did the course, one of the things that the instructor really instilled into us was to calm your patient down. Reassure them,” Jayne Davidson said.
“And so we did all the necessary steps and between my husband and I, we were able to help this man.”
The man had suffered injuries to his chest, back and hip as a result of the incident and was subsequently airlifted to hospital by RACQ LifeFlight Rescue for further treatment.
“We may not have needed to save his life, but we certainly made a difference to the process of him receiving help, and there were skills that I learned at the course that helped in this way,” Jayne Davidson said.
Jayne is one of thousands now armed with the critical and potentially life-saving skills imparted by the medical professionals on board the iconic blue and yellow RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopters.
“The past 12 months have been a really great success for the program; we’ve far exceeded expectations in terms of workshops and online registrations, due to demand and the success and ease of the program,” said Craig Blick.
“We’ve hosted 29 face-to-face workshops, so that means we’ve been to 27 rural communities with 418 people registered for the five and a half hour workshops, which means a lot of people have had the opportunity to access trauma care that they wouldn’t ever normally be able to have access to.”
“For our online component, we’ve had 2,634 registered participants.”
“So as a group, we’ve had over 3050 people exposed to the First Minutes Matter trauma training workshops and online learning modules, which we are really happy to see.”
The idea to create First Minutes Matter trauma training for the public came from LifeFlight’s aeromedical crew members, who know patient outcomes are dramatically improved by actions taken in the first minutes after an incident, before emergency crews arrive.
“As a paramedic, I understand the CBD and larger communities are well catered for in terms of paramedical response, but it is the direct opposite when we go to the remote communities,” said Craig Blick.
“So, it’s really important for us to be heading out to these regional communities and educate them on what to do while they’re waiting for an ambulance, police, fire and rescue or even the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter.”
“These teachings make a huge difference. The topics that we choose to teach are aimed at those real-life threats that can happen and we can teach people the basic skills around those, so that we can help save lives and we know that’s happening.”
Land Rover is supporting the First Minutes Matter program as Official Vehicle Partner, providing LifeFlight with a Defender 4WD to ensure the medical experts can deliver workshops to regional communities.
In the free, in-person workshops, LifeFlight Paramedic and First Minutes Matter Trainer Craig Blick shares his invaluable knowledge for dealing with trauma incidents including seizures, choking, burns, bleeding, snake bites and cardiac events.
Register for the in-person First Minutes Matter workshops at – firstminutesmatter.org.au
WORKSHOP DATES:
Highfields – 7th of December
Toowoomba – 8th of December
A refreshed online course will be available next year.
