Basic first-aid skills are important for everyone to have so medical students at UCT are teaching them to residents of Mitchell’s Plain, a great initiative.
In communities where violence is higher than average, basic first-aid skills are a necessity. A group of 4th-year medical students from UCT were given a project to do a community outreach project to complete their studies. They met with community members of Mitchell’s Plain and knew that would be the perfect place to start.
After the meeting, it became clear there was a need for training in basic first aid situations.
“We met with the community members to find out what their concerns were. There were some common medical challenges, including asthma and epilepsy, and then trauma, because there’s a lot of violence in the community.” – Josh Fieggen
They started a programme and a helpful Facebook Page where they share various tips relating to first aid. There are tips on how to stop seizures, on what to do if someone is bleeding, choking, burnt and so much more.
The students set up a day-long workshop at Westridge Civic Centre and promoted the event via their Facebook page, Mitchell’s Plain Community First Aid, and shared helpful posters in local clinics. The event was well attended by community health workers and members of the Chronic Club, a support group for people with chronic diseases.
The students covered many useful topics and even cleared up some myths and misinformation around first aid. You can see more about this initiative on their Facebook page here.
by 