Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are becoming widely available for use in an emergency in public places, and the BSAC course gives attendees the skills and confidence to use one.
The AED Skill Development Course (SDC) is open to all members aged 12 or above, with up-to-date basic life support skills. This could be from Sports Diver training or attendance at a BSAC Oxygen Administration SDC.
The two-and-a-half-hour course explains what an AED is and gives the student experience using an AED in a training environment. Through a structured range of scenarios, attendees receive plenty of hands-on practice of when and how to use an AED.
BSAC Head of Diving and Training Dom Robinson said:
Every member should do this course! You never know when you may need it and you could save someone’s life. It’s a great course to do at some point over the winter months.
The course teaches how to use an AED in accordance with Resuscitation Council (UK) Guidelines, and once completed the student will be qualified to use an AED in diving environments.
All divers are encouraged to take this course, although it’s useful for everyone - if you are at the scene of an emergency in a public place, such as an airport or station, you will have skills to be able to use an AED if one is available.
Practical sessions are supported by theory sessions on the heart and its rhythms, choosing and using an AED machine, and safety procedures specific to using an AED in diving situations. This is a continually assessed course during which students must reach the required performance standards.
The Automated External Defibrillator course takes basic-life-support skills to a higher level and gives a non-breathing, unresponsive casualty an increased chance of survival.
Find out more about the AED course
Book onto a scheduled Automated External Defibrillator course near you. Or ask your Diving or Training Officer about potentially running a course within your club.
