Community
18 July, 2025
Session to build life-saving skills on farm
RESIDENTS are being invited to a special first aid training course to provide them with life-saving skills when accidents happen on the farm.
The free session, which will be delivered by Stockyard First Aid thanks to a Look Over the Farm Gate Community Grant provided under the Victorian Government’s 2025 Drought Support Package, will allow residents to learn trauma-based skills in a community setting.
Stockyard First Aid owner Georgie Gretton said the session would cover managing a patient who had been involved in a car or farm accident.
“Lots of good quality, basic skills will be covered such as managing bleeding, but also some medical things such as what to do when someone is having a heart attack,” she said.
“We’ll do some CPR training as well.
“I work as a paramedic in this part of the world, and I noticed there was a gap in the training between the nationally accredited training and what we see on the ground in terms of the first aid you need when you’re a bit further from help.
“The nationally accredited training is developed around the idea that an ambulance will arrive in 10-15 minutes, whereas out in this part of the world it can be a lot longer. Injuries can also be more significant.
“I’ve developed a farm-focused first aid course – I actually go out on farms and run training, looking at their specific risks.”
The session will be held on Wednesday, August 6 at the Old Bookaar School (700 Darlington-Camperdown Road) from 10am-2pm with a free lunch for attendees.
Mrs Gretton said the session would provide an opportunity for farmers to take some time off the farm and get together with others in the community.
“I thought, with it being so tough at the moment with the drought and people feeding and worrying about water, it would be a nice event to run,” she said.
“We’ve got some guest speakers coming, so it will be just a nice way to spend a couple of hours off the farm.
“Scott Cell, who is the Spring Hill fire captain, he had a cardiac arrest on the fireground a few years ago and he’s going to come and talk about his experience.
“He only survived because the people he was with knew CPR and they started CPR early.”
A second guest speaker, yet to be confirmed, will talk about mental health challenges being faced by farmers.
“They’ll talk about the mental health first aid skills we need, particularly in the current climate with the drought, emergency services levy and other things farmers are worried about at the moment,” Mrs Gretton said.
To book a place, visit www.eventbrite.com.au/e/first-on-scene-tickets.
Read More: local