St John Ambulance Alnwick Cadets

20/10/2026

It's been a busy couple of weeks for the cadets. Last Monday we looked at Major Incident response and how emergency services would deal with such a situation.

At the weekend, one cadet attended NUFC v Aston Villa and 2 cadets attended the 2 day Community First Aider Course, which allows cadets to work alongside adults providing first aid at events, as well as being equipped with the skills in everyday life.

Last night we were visited by the county Training Officer, Andy, who introduced the cadets to making realistic wounds and injuries as part of the Casualty Simulation subject. These will eventually be used to make training scenarios more realistic.

29/09/2026

This weekend 2 cadets attended the RAF Boulmer Families Day to help provide event first aid cover.

At our Monday group night we revised observations and looked at the effect activity can have on them. We learned why it's important to establish context and history to understand whether the observations match what's expected and potential problems if they don't.

We then learned about Event Cover. We discussed the types of events we might attend, roles available to adults and cadets, and how to recognise Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) and non-HCPs at events.

We finished the evening with a scenario based around a concussion and suspected spinal injury. We discussed the potential signs and symptoms, how long it can take for these to show, and what actions we should take.

08/09/2026

Last weekend, 2 cadets and 1 adult attended Newcastle v Bournemouth to provide event first aid cover as Community First Aiders and Emergency Responders.

On our Monday group night we then held a small exercise to recreate the process of responding to event incidents and the associated communications. As the cadets attend more of these events they will be trusted with more responsibility e.g. completing patient report forms, radio comms and conducting basic first aid. Once they have completed the Community First Aid course they will then attend events in their own right as first aiders alongside the adults.

We finished the group session with a quiz aimed at asking the correct questions of a patient to help determine what could be happening to them. The teams were given the opportunity to ask pertinent questions in turn, with the first team to diagnose the likely illness/injury declared the winner.

01/09/2026

18/08/2026

This weekend 2 Alnwick cadets took part in event cover for their first football match as observers. They got to witness the aftermath of a couple of incidents and how the St John Ambulance first aiders dealt with them. This experience forms part of their preparation for their forthcoming Community First Aider course in October.

At our weekly group night on Monday our technical skill was revision of observations - types, how they're conducted with and without equipment, and what they could mean is happening to a patient.

We then moved on to the biology of a heart attack and stroke, the symptoms to look out for, and then how a first aider would react to each condition.

Finally, the cadets put together a simple demonstration of all of the above, talking the rest of the group through what was happening to the patient at each stage and the best way to help them while waiting for the emergency services to arrive.

04/08/2026

This week the cadets started with a team game, then took part in 10 mini challenges, testing their knowledge of local healthcare facilities, position finding, simple medical conditions and locating a patient's medical history.

We then progressed to learning about what happens inside the body during CPR and application of an AED, and what can go wrong if it's not done properly.

Finally, the cadets put together a 10 minute demonstration incorporating everything that they had learned across the evening before presenting it to the group.

11/07/2026

Today some of the Alnwick cadets attended the Longhoughton Feast. We had a great day out demonstrating life saving techniques to the public and fundraising for the charity.

Thanks to the organisers for the invite, the cadets for all the effort you put in today, and to everyone who visited us to try CPR and the choking vest!

07/07/2026

This week the Alnwick cadets spent time preparing for the upcoming Longhoughton Feast event at Westfield Park (Saturday 11 July). We've been allocated 2 slots in the showground arena to demonstrate CPR and how to help someone who is choking, so we concentrated on those skills and how to teach the general public what to do in those situations.

Following this, we took advantage of a visit by Andy who had brought some casualty simulation wounds with him, to practice dressing a variety of wounds including those with protruding or embedded objects.

Finally, we finished the evening with scenarios including seizures, stroke, internal bleeding and chest pains.

16/06/2026

This week the Alnwick cadets focused on confidence with speaking in public and demonstrating first aid skills, as part of being First Aid Aware.

We started the evening with a quick session on locating medical information about an unresponsive patient, particularly how to access the medical info section on different mobile phones.

We then moved onto speaking in very small groups, with the cadets choosing from a wide range of first aid and non-first aid related topics. They had to think for a minute and then speak for a minute whilst stood in front of their group.

We then discussed barriers to speaking in front of larger groups of strangers and ways that we can overcome the most significant of those.

Finally, in groups of 3, the cadets had to prepare and deliver a 10 minute demonstration of a first aid skill/skills of their choice to the rest of the group. We were treated to singing, dancing and some excellent demonstrations of techniques that the cadets have learned over previous sessions 👏

09/06/2026

This week the cadets did some consolidation work on communication, both within the first aid team, and when treating a patient.

We then revised the primary survey from last week and moved onto the secondary survey, focusing on questioning of responsive patients, and checking of unresponsive patients, in order to see if there is any treatment that can be given to preserve life prior to the arrival of the emergency services.