Emergency Outdoor First Aid
This one-day emergency outdoor first aid qualification will provide learners with the skills and knowledge to respond to a range of emergency outdoor situations in a prompt, safe and effective way, particularly where professional medical help is not immediately available.
Who is this course for?
This one-day Emergency Outdoor First Aid qualification is designed for outdoor professionals and where emergency medical support is not close by.
Duration
This is a 1 day course.
Topics covered:
What is outdoor first aid?
First aid equipment
Summon assistance
Monitoring
Scene survey
Primary survey
Secondary assessment
Resuscitation
Disorders of respiration
Wounds and bleeding
Hypovolemic shock
Certification
The course is First Aid awards endorsed and taught according to the current UK Resuscitation Council Adult BLS guidelines. The Level 3 Award qualification from ‘First Aid Awards UK’ is valid for three years from the date of achievement. Learners will need to complete the full course again to requalify for a further three years.
It should be noted that if the qualification expires a person is no longer considered competent to act as a first aider in the workplace.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Anyone who works or volunteers outdoors away from immediate help: forest school leaders, outdoor instructors and activity leaders, Duke of Edinburgh and expedition supervisors, Scout and Guide leaders, youth workers, rangers, farmers and groundskeepers. It's also a good fit for walking and cycling groups who want to be able to look after each other.
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It's a one-day course (around 6 hours) leading to the Level 3 Award in Emergency Outdoor First Aid, an Ofqual-regulated qualification from First Aid Awards. It covers the same core skills as Emergency First Aid at Work, with the scenarios, kit and decision-making adapted for being outdoors and some distance from help.
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For many settings, yes: it's a regulated Level 3 first aid qualification and is widely accepted for forest school, DofE supervision at Bronze and Silver level, Scouting and activity centres. Some governing bodies and remote expedition providers specify a 16-hour outdoor first aid course instead, so if you need it for a licence or a specific award, check your governing body's wording before booking and we'll point you to the right course.
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Yes, and we'd recommend it. We come to your forest school site, outdoor centre, farm, campsite or club anywhere in London and the South East, and we'll run as much of the day as possible outdoors so the practice happens on the terrain and in the conditions you actually work in. Groups are up to 12 per trainer, and we can run evenings and weekends.
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Managing an incident when help is a long way off, including how to summon it; CPR and using a defibrillator; the unresponsive casualty and the recovery position; choking; severe bleeding, wounds and shock; and the injuries and conditions you're most likely to meet outdoors, such as sprains, fractures, hypothermia, heat exhaustion, bites and stings and asthma. It's hands-on and scenario-based throughout.
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Three years from the date you pass. To requalify you repeat the one-day course before it expires; once a certificate has lapsed you're no longer considered a qualified first aider, so most people rebook in the final few months. We also recommend a short annual refresher to keep CPR and bleed-control skills sharp.