First aid for kids course coming

A REGISTERED paediatric critical care nurse duo is bringing a first aid course specifically for preventing and managing injuries to babies and children to Bendigo. 

Paeds Education is run by paediatric critical care nurses Grace Larson and Sarah Duncanson, who manage a team of peers who provide the training at rural and regional centres.  

“We put that together because we’ve seen firsthand the devastating effects that children who end up in the ICU, who did have preventable accidents and injuries, how that results when they do end up in a critical care environment,” said Ms Larson 

“Particularly in rural areas with really devastating injuries.” 

Both Ms Larson and Ms Duncanson live in rural Victoria. 

“We’re both mums ourselves, we both live on farms,” said Ms Larson. “We just have a real passion about empowering parents and carers in the community to know, first off, how to prevent accidents and injuries. 

“But then, they are inevitable, we have children, so we know that.  

“So, if it does happen to you, what do you do? You wait for emergency services to arrive, and that extends out to childhood illness as well.” 

It’s not just injury on the training schedule, managing respiratory illnesses like croupe, and other sicknesses common in children will also be covered. 

The course also looks at when to seek different levels of medical care and when home-monitoring is suitable. 

“Our aim is not only to help parents feel empowered, but grandparents and aunties and uncles and anyone else,” Ms Larson said. 

“But, also the health system as well, because if people feel more confident around what they can manage at home, versus what is a genuine emergency, that has a flow-on effect to our first responders and our ambulance services, and also our GPs and our EDs.  

“It’s a good way to help out in the rural setting when we’re not as well-resourced as metropolitan centres.  

“Our real aim and focus is to try to get resources available for rural and regional because there are lots of courses available for people who live in Melbourne or in metropolitan areas, but obviously not as many in the regional and rural areas.” 

The training will be on Saturday 25 November from 10am at Bendigo Library and visit the Paeds Education website to register.