St John Ambulance will hold course this month

The first aid charity will be holding its Essential First Aid for All Ages course at Devonshire Business Park, Knights Park Road, on dates in February, April and June.

The course, aimed at anyone over the age of 12, will encourage people to learn the skills needed to save a life. It will focus on a range of emergency situations involving infants and children, as well as those involving adults and will include guidance on how to deal with choking, bleeding and breathing difficulty.

Marita Edwards, of St John Ambulance, said: “Nobody should die because they needed first aid. Too many lives are lost every year in situations where first aid could have given people a chance to live. Only five per cent of people have had first aid training, 41 per cent say it would take something as severe as the death of a loved one to learn and one in five parents don’t think it’s important to know first aid.

“These are shocking statistics and we’d like to change this with our programme in Hampshire.

“At a St John Ambulance training course you’ll learn to be the difference between life and death.

“You never know when you might need first aid – it could be at home, at work, on holiday or just out and about, it can all happen in a second.”

The courses, which last for three hours and cost £30, will be held on February 21, April 4 and June 27 from between 10am and 1pm.

For more information or to book a place, call 0303 003 0101 (option 1 followed by option 2), email south-east-training@sja.org.uk or visit sja.org.uk and book online.