Deborah

I have been involved in many aspects of First Aid, initially becoming a First Aider in 1984 where my early First Aid experiences were gained within the Post Office where taking part in first aid competitions was encouraged and was an excellent way to gain skills. I still believe for those First Aiders that are working in low risk industries and rarely get the chance to gain experience with real blood or fractures on their colleagues, that competitions give an ideal scenario to practice. I realise that some people may not like the idea of competitions or may have heard negative comments regarding them but "don't knock them until you have tried them"

I have in the past been a member of St John Ambulance and enjoyed the experience of providing First Aid at large events. One of the developments I would like to see in the near future is more networking across the Industry.

I developed my own HSE approved First Aid training company which allowed the development and production of Focus on First Aid.

I am passionate about increasing the number of people nationally who are first aid trained, including children and groups that offer challenges to our training skills. I am also proactive in supporting the inclusion of AED’s within the workplace.

Caroline

Caroline Thomas enjoyed a career in the travel business, Organisation & Methods and training bank staff, including First Aid. She runs the City of London Division of St John Ambulance and London Region of Casualties Union, and she is also CU's Honorary General Secretary and Trustee. She is an assessor for fire fighters in car extrication competitions with the U.K. Rescue Organisation. All this gives her a uniquely varied view of the world of first aid training and practice, and finds that being a first aider and role-playing as 'casualty' complement each other and help to improve her skills in both. She has written many articles and booklets on first aid and allied subjects, which has resulted in Caroline becoming the proof reader for Focus on First Aid.

Denise

Denise is probably the first person you will speak to at Focus on First Aid, always with a friendly voice and keen to help. Denise manages the administration of the magazine and conferences, feel free to talk to her about technical issues although we can not guarantee she will know what you are talking about as she has only recently passed her First Aid at Work qualification for the first time.