iSkills First Aid: Saving Lives and Developing Digital Skills
Studies have shown that 59% of deaths from injury may have been prevented if first aid was given before the emergency medical services arrived. As well as this, only 5% of UK adults are first aid trained, and this is an area where adults with learning disabilities are particularly underrepresented. That’s where Digital Voice steps in. Late last year, In partnership with Speaking Up Together (SUT), and Unity Group, we were able to facilitate first aid training for two groups of learning disabled adults, with training provided by St. John’s Ambulance.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Digital Voice project without a digital element. Alongside the first aid training, our resident filmmaker, Ronnie Johnston, worked closely with both groups to create short films and informational leaflets based on what the groups were learning. For eight weeks we met up regularly with Unity group at the Teams Life Centre, and SUT at Bensham Grove, increasing participants' digital skills, as well as their confidence in their ability to handle an emergency.
“Digital Voice staff provided an excellent opportunity for members of our group, Speaking Up Together, to plan and co-produce an accessible film around basic first aid.
Being involved in planning and making the film showed people they can learn life-saving skills and share them with others.
With expert support from Digital Voice Speaking Up Together members were able to decide how first aid is explained, using their own words, ideas, and experiences, and in turn help other people with learning disabilities - and even people without disabilities to understand first aid better.”
- Joanne McGeachin, Speaking Up Together Self-Advocacy Group Worker
“I would be calm now if someone had an accident; I would know how to help them.”
- Participant
After a few weeks of planning which emergency scenarios the group wanted to cover, we got to filming. This is where our masterful SFX artist Chanise Armstrong came in.
“Creating accurate first aid scenarios with accurate-looking injuries was important, not only for better informing the public on how to deal with them, but to help the group further practice the skills they'd learned with St. John's Ambulance. I used liquid latex and some fake blood to create the wounds, it’s always surprising how real they look!”
After filming with the group, the footage they shot was then edited into short, snappy, TikTok-style videos, and we used the photos taken to create handy Z cards with vital information on first aid.
To download copies of the Z Cards to share with your groups and organisations, click on the images below:
The project culminated in a screening event, attended by Councillor Freda Geddes, Mayor of Gateshead. Participants were given certificates and commemorative tote bags to celebrate the project's completion.
See the playlist of the group’s informative films below:
For more information on similar projects, please visit our iSkills page.
If you have a group that would benefit from basic digital skills and the confidence that comes with it, please do get in touch. We’d love to help!