Course Overview
The Outdoor First Aid course is a practical two-day training programme designed to give learners the knowledge, skills and confidence to respond effectively to first aid emergencies in outdoor, rural and remote environments.
Working outdoors can present additional challenges when someone becomes injured or unwell. Help may be further away, communication can be more difficult, weather conditions may change and casualties may need to be managed for longer periods before professional medical assistance arrives.
Throughout the course, learners develop essential first aid skills while considering how those skills may need to be adapted when responding to incidents away from a traditional workplace. Practical activities and realistic outdoor scenarios help learners build the confidence to assess situations, manage casualties and make appropriate decisions when faced with an emergency.
What You’ll Learn
- The role and responsibilities of an outdoor first aider
- Assessing an incident and managing the scene safely
- Assessing and managing an unresponsive casualty
- CPR and the safe use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED)
- Managing a choking casualty
- Wounds, bleeding and shock
- Burns and scalds
- Injuries to bones, muscles and joints
- Head, spinal and chest injuries
- Recognising and managing medical emergencies
- Managing environmental exposure
- Hypothermia and the effects of cold
- Heat-related illness
- Casualty positioning and monitoring
- Managing incidents where emergency assistance may be delayed
- Considerations when working in remote or difficult locations
- Recording and reporting first aid incidents
Practical training to refresh your skills
Providing first aid outdoors can be very different from responding to an emergency in an office, classroom or other conventional workplace.
Our Outdoor First Aid training places a strong emphasis on practical learning and realistic scenarios. Learners have opportunities to practise casualty assessment, CPR, bleeding control, management of injuries and medical emergencies while considering the challenges created by terrain, weather, location and delayed access to emergency medical assistance.
Where appropriate, elements of the course can be delivered outdoors, allowing learners to explore how first aid techniques can be adapted when ideal equipment, shelter or immediate professional assistance may not be available.
The aim isn’t simply to teach first aid techniques. It is to help learners develop the confidence to assess the situation, use the resources available to them and make sensible decisions when managing a casualty in a challenging environment.
WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?
Outdoor First Aid is suitable for people who work, volunteer or undertake activities in outdoor, rural or remote environments where access to emergency medical assistance may be delayed.
The Outdoor First Aid course can be particularly relevant for people involved in fieldwork, environmental and ecological work, surveying, conservation, forestry, agriculture, outdoor education, recreational activities and other roles involving work away from conventional workplaces.
It may also be suitable for organisations whose first aid needs assessment identifies additional risks associated with remote working, outdoor environments or delayed access to emergency services.
First aid beyond the traditional workplace
Outdoor incidents can involve circumstances that are less predictable than those encountered in a conventional workplace. Location, terrain, weather, communications and the time required for emergency services to reach the casualty can all influence how an incident is managed.
The Outdoor First Aid course helps learners consider these additional factors while reinforcing the fundamental principles of first aid.
Outdoor First Aid practical scenarios encourage learners to think about the whole incident — not simply the injury — including keeping themselves and others safe, protecting the casualty from the environment, communicating with emergency services and monitoring the casualty while awaiting further assistance.
No previous first aid experience is required.
CERTIFICATION OPTIONS
Choose the certification route that works for you.
Regulated Qualification
For organisations or learners who require an externally regulated first aid qualification.
The course follows the requirements of the relevant regulated qualification and, following successful completion, learners receive certification through the applicable awarding organisation.
Acumen Approved Course
For organisations that require high-quality first aid training without the need for a regulated qualification.
The course covers the essential practical skills and knowledge required for Emergency First Aid at Work, with successful learners receiving an Acumen Safety Solutions certificate of completion.
COURSE INFORMATION
Course Details
Duration: 2 Days
Delivery: Classroom, outdoor practical training and on-site at your workplace
Location: At your workplace, suitable outdoor location or an arranged training venue
Assessment: Practical assessment and knowledge assessment
Certification: Regulated Qualification or Acumen Approved Course
Entry requirements: None required
Not sure which option you need? We can help you choose the most appropriate certification route based on your activities, working environment and organisational requirements.
Explore our full range of First Aid Training courses here
Employers should determine their workplace first aid requirements through an appropriate first aid needs assessment. Further guidance is available from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
