Members of the Deaf Community can now acquire life-saving skills online following the launch of BSL signed first aid-training videos by the British Red Cross.
The videos cover a range of essential first aid skills, from how to treat bleeding and burn injuries right through to providing emergency resuscitation. The eight videos, accessible on the Red Cross website, are also available for schools with young deaf people, as a resource for teachers using the charity's Life. Live it education pack.
Mark Nelson, company director of Remark! who collaborated with the Red Cross in the videos' production said: "It's brilliant the Red Cross has taken the initiative in making their materials accessible to the deaf community."
He added: "As a deaf person, I personally have enrolled onto a first aid course and found it extremely valuable. I now feel confident that, in the case of a medical emergency, I would be able to respond appropriately. More deaf people certainly should learn first aid."
To complement the videos, the Red Cross has also posted advice on highlighting the different ways for deaf people to contact the emergencies services in partnership with BT, The 999 Liaison Committee and Hampshire Police.
This latest online initiative is inline with the charity's Inclusive First Aid training programme. The programme aims to equip at least 5, 000 deaf and disabled people across the UK with life-saving skills. The groundbreaking project began in September 2006 with the financial assistance of the Big Lottery Fund.
Mark Beagan, the Red Cross inclusive first aid co-ordinator, said: "In the past three years, our inclusive first aid courses have taught first aid to thousands of deaf and disabled people. It's brilliant that we now have these additional videos, supported by the BSL, to supplement our other great resources."
To-date, around 550 deaf people from across the UK have been able to attend first aid courses run by the Red Cross.
To view the videos - signed by actress and TV presenter Fifi Garfield in British Sign Language (BSL) - please visit :
