First Aid skills are crucial in any job, but being a close protection specialist requires them to be second nature. Some schools are already teaching very basic First Aid to their students. This is a positive development. Everyone should be taught basic first aid. Over the years, I’ve been astounded by the number of bodyguard CVs and resumes that make no mention of First Aid. Learn the best info about celebrity bodyguard.
When questioned in an interview, some candidates state that they had done First Aid in the Army ‘around ten years ago’ or ‘I did a lifesaving course “a while ago.” ‘
This is insufficient. I can almost promise that First Aid skills will be required in a job in close protection. You may never need the bootleg to turn you practiced in the car, or the quick draw and chair roll you honed for hotel corridors, but you will need your First Aid knowledge.
First Aid, like any other skill, requires ongoing practice to remain effective. Because techniques and concepts evolve, you must continue to train and stay current. Most ‘close protection’ books include a chapter on First Aid. However, this token gesture is frequently exploited to pad out the book. Authors often use sexual First Aid techniques such as suckling chest wounds, tracheotomies, and gunshot wounds. They neglect simple truths like that your principal is hundreds of times more likely to die from choking on a pretzel than being shot in the chest. First Aid is a subject that requires its book and cannot be handled in a single chapter. You will need to take a First Aid course.
When the Security Industry Authority (SIA) in the United Kingdom commissioned the essential skills or core competencies, the draft materials only covered sexy First Aid. Some sensible people pushed to have this removed and replaced with a genuine First Aid qualification. Finally, the SIA chose the Health and Safety Executive’s ‘First Aid at Work’ course, which is four days long and includes written and practical assessments. You must have this First Aid qualification to work as a Close Protection Officer in the United Kingdom. The course covers much more than tracheotomies; for those genuinely interested, they teach you about nursing chest wounds.
The following topics will be covered in the course:
- First Aid Instruction
- Personal grooming
- Circulation Resuscitation
- Bandages and dressings
- Wounds and bruising
- Circulatory problems
- First Aider Responsibilities
- The human skeleton
- Fractures
- Unconsciousness
- Scalding and burns
- Transport and handling
This course certificate is good for three years; after that, you must complete a two-day refresher course before your certificate expires. If you wait over three years, you must retake the entire system.
Other Important First Aid Courses
While the introductory First Aid course mentioned above is sufficient to obtain a license to operate in the UK, you should consider at least two different First Aid credentials to become a protection professional.
Course on Automated External Defibrillators
This brief lesson will teach you how to use an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). This gadget can be used to provide calibrated electric shocks to persons in cardiac arrest, which is the most effective way of enhancing their chances of survival. Many close protection teams carry AEDs regularly, and you must be trained to use them. Most ‘de-fib’ courses last one day, and the course certificate must be updated every six months.
Children’s First Aid
A first aid certificate for children will frequently make a close protection officer more marketable in a family setting. Most courses are designed for adults, so you’ll have to seek hard to locate one designed just for children. In certain critical areas, children’s first aid procedures differ. Participants will learn to resuscitate children and infants, do risk assessments, and deal with choking, burns, scalds, and seizures. In a career in close protection, you will work for principals with families with young children. You will frequently be in charge of their care. It would help if you were prepared for an accident or illness. These skills are necessary for you to serve as a bodyguard in a setting that involves children.
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