Practice nurse Louise Thomas is providing free paediatric first aid sessions across the island.

CUB Paediatric First Aid has been running for almost a year.

Some of the topics covered in the two-hour sessions include the recovery position, CPR, head injuries, allergic reactions and choking, for babies and children under the age of 16.

The idea came about when Mrs Thomas took an early retirement two years ago.

She said: ‘I decided to have a bit of a time out, which is when I thought of what I could do with the time.’

As a parent, grandparent and practice nurse, she knew how scary parenting could be, so she thought of giving people the information and confidence to deal with certain situations if they came up.

Mrs Thomas, who lives in Onchan, went to Manchester to gain some of her qualifications, which include being a first aid trainer and assessor, paediatric first aid and emergency first aid at work.

She now works as a bank practice nurse at Finch Hill Medical Practice, providing cover for other nurses, as well as running the first aid sessions.

She said: ‘This is going to sound really corny, but I genuinely think that as a nurse, I have got the best job in the world, and this is just a way of giving something back to the community.

‘The aim of the sessions is to empower the people who come.

‘The feedback has just been fantastic and it is snowballing now.’

She added: ‘I had a lady get in touch who had been on the course, and her baby choked, and because of being on the course she felt confident with how to deal with the situation.

‘The baby was fine, and following that she made her mum come on the course.

‘I was also told that there was a child that had been burnt, they had to go away to hospital. But they said because of the quick action of what the parents had done, after learning how to deal with the situation on the course, it prevented the burn being worse than it could have been.

‘It is awful that both these things happened, but it is so nice to hear that the course has helped.

‘People ask why I don’t charge for the sessions, and I think to myself that is not why I am doing it. Things are so expensive nowadays.

‘People also ask if I give out certificates, and whilst I am qualified to do that, I won’t because there are first aid qualifications in the island that people can get.

‘It is so scary being a parent, and especially if you don’t have the knowledge of how to deal with medical situations that may come up, so I think just giving people that bit of information, it means a lot.

Mrs Thomas continued: ‘The last thing I want to do is scare people. You see some young mums come in and worry if these situations will happen.

‘The chances are so low, but at least if anything does happen, they have the knowledge to navigate the situation.’

She said: ‘I am so grateful to the venues, for offering the locations for free.

‘Also David Cannell designed and printed out all my leaflets for free, so I am grateful to him as well.

‘I couldn’t run the sessions without the kindness and generosity of all these people.’

Sessions are held at Douglas Rugby Club, The Heritage Centre in Ramsey, Castletown Football Club and The Hub in Onchan, with each session taking ten participants.

There are about four sessions a month, and you can book them a month in advance on the CUB Paediatric Facebook page. Mrs Thomas has a maximum of 10 attendees per session so she can go through the CPR as a one to one.

She said: ‘I have got these attachments so when people practise CPR, it shows if the hands are in the right place, if they are doing it at the right speed, or if they are breathing in properly. I think it is good if people can actually see how they are doing, so I can say move your hand a little bit, and it really helps them.’

‘A lot of people worry about if they are doing it right, but I say as long as they are giving it a go, that is all that matters.

‘Couples get really competitive as well, as they can track if they are doing better than their partners.’

In the time the sessions have been running, there have been around 400 participants who have attended.

For more information, email [email protected]