Report of the 20th Annual First Aid Conference
January 13 2009
The 2008 First Aid Conference for the Ports Industry was held in the Leapark Hotel, Grangemouth on 20 November and hosted by Forth Ports PLC.
Our thanks go to Forth Ports for all their hard work in making the Conference a clear success and also to all the speakers who gave up their time to give such informative and interesting presentations.
This Conference was reasonably well attended with 30 delegates and 3 speakers. A wide range of topics were covered during the day by the presenters:
- Mary Gallagher, Education Co-ordinator / Ophthalmic Nurse Practitioner, Royal Alexander Eye Pavilion, Edinburgh
- Elaine Pollard, Course Leader / Lead Nurse Practitioner, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh
- Dr. Colin Young, Training Director, Safety Skills, Edinburgh
- Dave Miller and Stuart Whiteley, Associated British Ports, Goole
The presentations, which were all very well received, covered:
- The Treatment of Eye Injuries
- The Treatment of Burns
- The Future of First Aid Training- what effect will it have on you?
- The Treatment of Head Injuries
- Practical Demonstration of First Aid Skills
Conference provides an ideal forum for first aiders in the industry to update their knowledge. Whilst it is valuable to hear from the medical profession about the latest treatments available, it is equally important when speakers from within our own industry spare the time to tell Conference about the different techniques used within their own workplace.
This year Dave Miller and Stuart Whiteley from ABP Goole agreed to give a practical demonstration of their first aid skills and this was filmed for future training purposes. Our special thanks go to Marie MacDonald for providing the make up for our “casualties” and to Andy Bowley, from ABP Ipswich, for filming this demonstration and for providing copies of the DVD for circulation.
This year’s conference was well attended but it would be good to see even more first aiders at next year’s event. Topics this year were all suggested by previous delegates, if you would like more information or have any suggestions for next year, please contact Marje Gray who will be more than happy to help.