Recommend me a first aid course

[Tim]

Right, I'm currently the wielder of a four day FAW qualification (due to expire) which I appreciate as it's wide-ranging, was funded by work, and leaves me a great deal happier about persuing a range of activities which carry a certain degree of risk of at least suffering pain (generally through trauma). Work is now only willing to offer a single day EFAW course tailored for the sedentary activities of the office.

I want something that can prove useful in the circumstances surrounding biking (on & off-road), watersports, throwing myself down hills etc. It's the keep people around until the professionals arrive/get someone in a state to move them to the professionals. Generally a proportion of the group I do this stuff with have had formal training and there is a reasonable understanding of you watch my back etc.

I've used Red Cross courses in the past and generally found them well run & effective.

Options as I see them:
Maintain the more significant FAW qualification (requires a two day refresher), but accept it's not really targetted for what I want, but is wide enough to be helpful.
Find a more specific course

Either way it's good-bye to being a first aider in the office (if I've got to pay for the course myself I see no reason to bother with that extra burden). But there have to be enough of you who have a similar set of requirements for basic training, so what have you used and has it been any good?

[Regulator]

The Red Cross do a range of sports based FA qualifications.  I don't think they do a cycling specific one though.  It might be worth asking, however, as they tend to create courses to meet demand.

London First Aid do a cycling-specific First Aid course but I don't know how good it is.

There was an article in one of the cycling magazines last year about a specialist off-road cycling first aid course - I'll see if I can find the reference.*

The other thing to do is talk to your local Ambulance Service NHS Trust.  Many of them provide training and I know some of them do speciliast training for motorcyclists.  I reckon they'd be up for doing cycle specific training.

Whatever you do, make sure it's ITC recognised.

*Found it: High Peak First Aid do courses for mountain bikers.

[jellied]

I've recently looked into this - St JOhns Ambulance do a 2 day "activity" first aid course which is sounds want i need for short cycle rides and the like, it'is a cut above dealing with people falling over their office chair at work/getting their arse trapped in the photocopier type courses.

[inc]

Why do you feel you need the qualification if it is just for your own activities.First aid hasn't changed much in four years.

[Butterfly]

I've generally found the basic St. John's course to be much better than the Red Cross. The St John's course for child carers was excellent and I should think their activity based one would be as well