Police call: A training course that could help save lives

All Officers and staff receive first aid training and as part of this we undergo CPR training and receive awareness of the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AED).

AED’s have appeared all over the Falkirk area and can be found in most public spaces whether within businesses or in rural communities on the sides of schools, post offices and other buildings.

Many of them are paid for through charitable donations and their sole purpose is to save a life.

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I received training in CPR and the use of AED but I also attended my local primary school off duty to hear the local mountain rescue deliver a presentation on the use and availability of AED.

I sat with neighbours who confessed they secretly hoped they would never have to use one but all were keen to learn and if the situation arose I’m certain many would step up and help out.

Having personally given CPR I can confirm that it’s not easy, it’s traumatic and everything moves quickly with the sole focus of doing whatever you can to help the patient.

Some Officers and staff at Falkirk have also undertaken CPR and each time they are supported afterwards regardless of the outcome.

I’m also aware that right across the Falkirk area members of our community, some trained as part of their jobs and others who went along to AED training have used these devices to save a life.

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None of us want to replace the professional expertise of a paramedic and the ambulance service but those few minutes of activity may give the patient the best chance of life.

If there’s a training course near you, why don’t you go along to listen and learn? You never know when you could make a difference.