Training Safety During the Pandemic

The Novel Coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) which causes the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new strain of Coronavirus which was discovered in January 2020 in Wuhan City, China. COVID-19 is a member of this large group of viruses that causes illness in both animals and humans. In the Coronavirus group of viruses, you have illnesses like the Common Cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV also known as SARS) & Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

COVID-19 symptoms include:

• a high temperature or fever, this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back,
• a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
• a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.

If you have any of these symptoms you will need to self-isolate for a minimum of 10 days and have a test. If you have been in direct contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 you need to self-isolate for a minimum of 14 days.

Infections can range from no symptoms & mild illness (like a common cold) to severe illness in older people, people with weak immune systems & people with underlying health conditions, but there have been cases of people developing severe illness who are normally fit & healthy.

Although transmission of COVID-19 is still unproven, it is thought to be passed from person to person through small droplets from the mouth and nose which is spread from the infected person when they cough or sneeze. These small droplets are then breathed in or land a surface which people then touch and transfer to themselves if they touch their face especially their mouth, nose & eyes. The length of time COVID-19 survives on a surface is another area that is still unproven. Dependent on the type surface & the source of the information you are getting, but it is believed to be between a few hours to several days.

At this moment there is currently no vaccine or treatment for COVID-19. So the best way to prevent it is to follow good hygiene practices, avoid touching your face regularly & washing your hand regularly.

For more information about COVID-19, we have a free Coronavirus course available by clicking here. It is free to complete the course, but there is a charge of £10+VAT for a certificate, but this is not mandatory.

You should not attend any training & give us a call to discuss options, if:

• If you are in isolation or told to self-isolate.
• You have had a cough, difficulty in breathing, a fever, or loss of taste or smell within 14 days including the day of the course.
• You have been in contact with a person that has been diagnosed with COVID-19 within the last 14 days.
• You have visited within 14 days an area or country on the government's list of areas to avoid.

If you find yourself in any of the above situations please do not hesitate in contacting us, we will do everything in our power to help you.

• Wear a mask when you are in public areas e.g. Café (when not seated to eat or drink), hallways, toilets, reception & other communal areas.
• Wear a face mask were 2m social distancing is not possible.
• Wash your hands with soap & water or hand sanitiser regularly including on arrival, before food, visiting the toilet, whenever you don or doff your face mask, before & after carrying out CPR & before & after first aid scenarios where social distancing is not possible.
• Hand sanitiser of 70% isopropyl alcohol will be distributed around the room for use throughout the day.
• Cover your mouth & nose with a tissue or using the inside of your elbow when you cough or sneeze.
• Bin any tissues immediately after use.
• Bin any manikin wipes immediately after use.
• Keep your personal equipment for the duration of the course and don’t mix it up with others.
•  Do not touch your eyes, nose mouth, or face as much as possible.

It has now become a legal requirement for people to wear face-coverings when in a public indoor space including in a Café when not seated to eat or drink, hallways, toilets, receptions & other communal areas.

When in the classroom you will be socially distanced from each other & you will not be required to wear a face covering, but if you want to wear one for your peace of mind, we will support you.

However, face coverings and gloves will be required when we carry out first aid scenarios & where social distancing is not possible.

We do provide face masks for all our training courses & they are of the 3 ply surgical type. But we want you to feel as comfortable as possible while on your course and if you want to use your own face covering, we would be happy with this as long as it is a suitable face covering.

If you have the virus, face coverings help stop the circulation of Coronavirus when you cannot keep social distancing and risk coughing or sneezing over another person. We will be practicing social distancing in the classroom and you should not be attending if you suspect you have COVID-19.

The WHO also highlights that the virus can multiply on damp and warm face coverings. If we wear the face-covering for the duration of the day, we will be reducing the effectiveness of the covering. We will maintain social distancing for the duration of the course and wear face coverings at all other times.

The coverings can affect communication as we cannot see lip movement and facial expressions. It is reported that only 7% of communication is what we say, so if we cannot see our faces we are impacting learning through communication. While socially distanced, we will support communication by not requiring the wearing of face coverings.

If you are diagnosed with COVID-19 after the course or it is suspected that you had COVID-19 on the day of the course, you should get in touch with us and the NHS Track & Trace team immediately. We may then inform our team and those who attended the course, depending on our discussions with you.

As we hire rooms at the venues or come to your location we are not required to have a QR code for the Trace & Trace app. However, the sites we do use, have the QR codes to scan in but it is not a legal requirement for you to use it.

As part of registering for the course, we will need an email address & telephone number to contact you should a COVID-19 case is reported.

All our trainers take hygiene very seriously, and we follow the strictest guidelines given to us by our Awarding Body and the Resuscitation Council (UK), and all our trainers are updated whenever new guidance is provided.

• We will provide candidates with a PPE & Training Pack which contains a face mask, A pair of gloves, a CPR face shield, a 10x10 dressing bandage & a triangular bandage to every candidate on the course this pack is yours to keep. 
• Candidates will have the opportunity to practise their bandaging and burn skills on model arms, to minimise the time practising on one another.
• When candidates need to practise a full first aid scenario with another person, they will work to the same pair throughout the course to minimise the number of people they come into contact with. They will also be required to wear face mask & gloves until 2m social distancing can be maintained again.
• Our CPR manikins are fitted with lungs with one-way valves. These one-way valves stop expired air from the lung returning to the candidate but directs the air out the back of the head.
• All CPR manikins are cleaned with a minimum of 70% Isopropyl Alcohol between student uses & have their faces sterilised, lungs removed & completely cleaned inside & out after every course.
• 2m Social Distancing (PPE is to be worn when 2m are not possible).