More than a dozen members of the Rye Arts Festival Committee, stewards and volunteers received excellent First Aid training from St John Ambulance on Friday June 10.
This is a new initiative which has been instigated following the charity’s recent reorganisation. Issues around health and safety have been given priority by the Festival organisers and a new sub-committee has been formed to ensure safety is front of mind in all Festival venues.
Everyone involved in the Festival, from the Chair and trustees, organising committee, the volunteering stewards and those running the box office, are actively taking part in health and safety training.
The excellent St John Ambulance trainer, Damon, talked the 14 trainees through the process for responding when someone has collapsed and in need of assistance. In addition to hands-on training on CPR, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, which was on both adult and child dummies, and bandaging wounds the trainees were also talked through the St John Ambulance’s free easy-to-use first aid app.
This was the first of two training sessions, the next is being held for the rest of the Committee and volunteers in August in time for the festival starting on September 15 2018.
Photo: Kevin McCarthy