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 St John Ambulance, Cork, is proud to have won the inaugural St John Ambulance First Responder Competition. The event involved a team test and was held in the O’Brien Institute; the training centre for the Dublin Fire Brigade.
The Cork City Division emerged victorious after competing against 3 other teams for the Montgomery and Dan O’Brien Trophies. The event was adjudicated by health care professionals who specialise in Accident and Emergency work and the scenario was designed to test team members’ competence at using first responder skills in a realistic environment that is likely to arise while providing event first aid cover. Four teams took the floor, included Ballyfermot, Cork, Walkinstown, and a hybrid team with members from Dundrum, Tallaght and City Of Dublin Divisions. Overall, the consensus of the adjudicators was that while there is a lot of room for improvement, each of the four teams performed admirably, and that this is obviously a positive reflection on the hard work and training taking place at each of the individual divisions who were represented, especially Walkinstown who finished in second place. The scenario was based on a team of four Emergency First Responders operating a first aid post at a concert. The test lasted for 20 minutes. The first casualty presented with the classic signs and symptoms of a stroke. The second casualty, whom the team were called to, had fallen from a wall and had suffered a spinal injury. The two cases combined challenged members in both trauma and medical illness.  Marks were allocated for body substance isolation, communication, patient handling, diagnoses, and monitoring. A particular focus was placed on each team’s ability to continuously monitor casualties’ vital signs, including pulse oximetry, pulse, blood pressure, and glucose level, and to take corrective action for any condition that presented itself.
St John Ambulance, Cork, would like to thank the adjudicators, those who acted as casualties, the organisers, and the Dublin City Fire Brigade, who hosted the competition at their training centre. We would also like to thank the members of our Division who travelled from Cork to support the team, including a district officer, our Superintendent, and other officers and members. Related Links:
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