Local air cadets put their first aid training into practice recently during a training exercise.
Youngsters from Tynemouth Squadron have been working on gaining the Young Life Savers Award from St John's Ambulance. As part of their assessment, members of staff at the air cadet squadron donned make-up and fake blood to add a sense of realism to the exercise.
With twenty cadets having already completed the training, the remaining ten were put through their paces. They had a range of accidents to deal with; from common household injuries to traffic accidents.
Cadet Kay McBride (14) from Tynemouth enjoyed the training and assessment. "We've spent weeks preparing and training. Having the blood and stuff was a bit off-putting, but you just get on with it. It was quite challenging, not what ordinary teenagers get up to in their summer holidays!"
Taking his turn as one of the causalities was squadron Padre, Captain Steve Dixon. He told us about the experience. "I think it's important that these young people have the skills to deal with emergency situations, you never know when they may need to put them into practice. The certainly reassured me, although I was acting up a bit!"
A team of 6 cadets and two staff from the Tynemouth Squadron had to put their first aid skills into practice for real last May when they came across a party of injured climbers in the Pyrenees. Squadron boss, flight lieutenant Will Close-Ash emphasised the importance of the training. "We want to make sure that every young cadet that leaves us has the confidence and skills to handle any situation, whether at home or in the mountains."
