FAQs

General

  • Castleford Training Solutions have two main locations:

    Castleford - Located approximately 10 miles east of the city of Leeds and can be accessed by either junction 31 or 32 of the M62.

    Wigan - Located in between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester (approximately 25 miles away from both), and accessible by either junction 5 or 6 of the M61.

    We have training rooms situated in Castleford, Leeds and Wigan, or we can conduct courses at a venue of your choice depending on your specific needs. We can travel further afield and cover most of mainland UK to satisfy our customer requirements.

First Aid

  • It is a common misconception in the UK that First Aiders can be sued or deemed liable for the treatment they give. The answer is simple, if you work within your limitations (Scope of Practice) - meaning the way you were taught on your training course - then you are not liable and cannot be sued or prosecuted, even if the patient’s condition deteriorates after treatment has been given. A common example is the casualty can suffer fractured ribs from receiving life-saving CPR to treat cardiac arrest. However, it is important to stress that acts of intentional negligence can lead to prosecution.

    In summary, if you act with good intentions in the way you have been trained, then you should have nothing to worry about. Please note that we are not experts in law, so this is only guidance and adviced based off our years of experience in the industry.

  • A First Aider learns a particular set of skills depending on the First Aid course that they have a qualification in. The main role of a First Aider is to offer immediate help and assistance for someone who is suffering as a result of an accident or illness until further assistance from the emergency services arrives on scene if needed.

  • Learning Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is a crucial life saving skill. Taught correctly, CPR can increase the chances of a patient surviving cardiac arrest. However you do not need to have attended a training course to be able to give CPR, but knowing the basics will help you perform “good quality” CPR. These basic instructions can be given to you from a First Aider or an emergency operator - it is a simple but very effective skill to learn.

  • As a general rule First Aiders are not allowed to administer medication to patients. However, you can suggest to a patient to take an aspirin if available for suspected heart attack. A First Aider may also help someone administer any medication if it is prescribed to them. In addition, anyone can administer an adrenaline auto-injector to a casualty who carries them and is experiencing an anaphylactic reaction, regardless of whether you are first aid trained or not.

  • This is a question that we get asked frequently by many people due to the vast choice of courses on the market, which have various different course titles and awarding bodies who regulate the courses. The answer all depends on your requirements or your employer’s requirements for First Aid qualifications. At CTS, we offer a wide range of First Aid courses and most can be both regulated by an awarding body such as QualSafe or Nuco Training, or as an “in-house CTS” certification. Our offerings start from shorter, more intense courses such as Basic Life Support (BLS) and Immediate Life Support (ILS), up to more comprehensive courses like 1-day Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) and 3-day First Aid at Work (FAW) courses.

    We can offer more specialised first aid courses such as Forestry First Aid and Catastrophic Bleed courses, all of which can be delivered as a stand alone subject or as an additional module for FAW or EFAW courses. In addition to this, CTS can teach paediatric courses to satisfy first aid requirements for those working in childcare or school settings. If you desire to take your training to the next level then we offer First Response Emergency Care (FREC) courses. Currently we teach the 5-day FREC 3 course and the 3-day FREC 3 requalification course. Whatever your First Aid needs, CTS can deliver the course to suit your requirements.

  • There is a common belief that the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) stipulate what must be included in a First Aid kit. However this is not true - contents must be governed by a risk assessment. Various important things need taking into consideration whilst completing the risk assessment, such as how many people are covered by the First Aid box, the type of activities carried out, previous accidents and incidents and the location of the first aid box in relation to the nearest accident/emergency hospital.

    The contents may be similar to what is “suggested” by HSE if the box is to be situated in a small office where no manual work takes place, however the contents of a First Aid box should be very different for a heavy goods warehouse environment or a shop floor in a manufacturing facility. One thing to note is that First Aid boxes cannot contain medication if it is accessed by more than one person - this must be kept in a different container away from the First Aid box.

Pre-Hospital Care (FREC)

  • FREC stands for First Response Emergency Care.

  • First Aid courses are entry level for someone who has a personal or work related interest in supplying immediate help to someone who has hurt themselves either in or outside the workplace. The First Response Emergency Care (FREC) group of courses are the next level and are fastly becoming the industry standard for those wanting to carry out duties as an event medic.

    As well as learning all the skill that are covered in the First Aid at Work (FAW) course on the entry level FREC course, the FREC 3, you also learn more about trauma, carrying out and documenting observations, how to administer oxygen in emergency situations and other skills that make you best suited to work either alone or as part of a larger medical team at bigger events.

  • There is no actual FREC (First Response Emergency Care) qualification that is equivalent to being a paramedic. Qualsafe (the Awarding Organisation for FREC) did trial a FREC 6 course that aimed to enable the learner to become a paramedic on completion, however the trial was soon ended. To be a paramedic in the UK you need a university degree and this was something that was potentially not included in the FREC 6 course.

    The FREC system follows these guidelines:

    FREC 3 - First Responder

    FREC 4 - Urgent Care Assistant (UCA)

    FREC 4 (with Blue Light Driving qualification) - Emergency Care Assistant (ECA)

    FREC 5 - Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)

    At Castleford Training Solutions (CTS) we offer FREC 3 and FREC 3 requalification courses.

Mental Health

  • Modern society has changed so much within the last 10-20 years, and we are slowly removing the stigma around people’s Mental Health. However, it still remains one of the largest issues we face, with 1 in 4 adults experiencing a diagnosed mental health condition each year, and many more going undiagnosed.

    Whether you want Mental Health training purely for your personal requirements to help you understand your own (or a friend or family member’s) Mental Health condition, or your require the qualification for your workplace, your training will prove to be a valuable asset to your skillset. Mental health training, depending on the level, will help you understand Mental Health illness, recognise Mental Health conditions, help signpost people with Mental Health conditions to the relevant support and understand how to implement a positive Mental Health culture within your community or workplace.

  • A Mental Health First Aider is there as a point of contact for Mental Health. They will hold a minimum level 2 Mental Health qualification which will mean they have probably passed both practical and written assessments to test their knowledge and skills in recognising a number of Mental Health conditions. The purpose of a Mental Health First Aider is to listen without judgement to someone who is suffering a Mental Health condition and be able to signpost the sufferer to appropriate help.

    One of the most important parts of the role is to recognise when someone is suffering severely, and is at risk of harming themselves or others. This could be if the sufferer is seriously considering ending their life through suicide. In cases like these the Mental Health First Aider should get them the emergency help that they desperately need.

  • Mental Health training may not be a legal requirement in the workplace but it is becoming desirable by employers to have policies in place to look after the health and well-being of it's employees. The larger corporate companies may choose to employ large Occupational Health companies who may implement a phone contact system, whereas the smaller companies may be more inclined to train specifically chosen employees as Mental Health First Aiders.

  • A Level 2 Mental Health qualification is, in our opinion, the entry point to being classed as a First Aider for Mental Health and although the course content teaches you how to engage in non-judgemental conversation with someone who is suffereing from a Mental Health condition, it does not allow you to diagnose them with suffering from a particular condition.

    What a First Aider for Mental Health can do is help to signpost the sufferer to the correct help available, and more importantly recognise the signs that a sufferer is seriously considering harming themself or someone else, and getting them the immediate help they need when required. Being a First Aider for Mental Health is similar to being a Fist Aider, as First Aiders also cannot diagnose physical medical conditions.

  • At Castleford Training Solutions (CTS) we offer Level 1, 2 & 3 Mental Health qualifications. All 3 levels of qualification can be carried out either face-to-face learning or via online learning.

    Mental Health Awareness (Level 1) is designed to give the learner an awareness of Mental Health. The course covers many of the various Mental Health illnesses and how to start supportive, non-judgemental conversations with someone who is suffering with a Mental Health illness. The course also looks at stress and how best to manage stress both in personal life, social life and at work. The course can be taught within 4 hours (half day) for face-to-face, or 2 hours if delivered online (with additional pre-advised self learning).

    First Aid for Mental Health (Level 2) covers the same content as level one but also goes on to cover a series of Mental Health conditions, giving an oversight (through open conversation, carefully selected videos and power point slides) including Depression, Anxiety, Psychosis, Drug and Alcohol Addiction and Suicide. The course also includes how to incorporate a good Mental Health culture within a workplace. The course can be taught in 7 hours (one day) for face-to-face, or within 4 hours if delivered online (with additional pre-advised self learning).

    Supervising First Aid for Mental Health (Level 3) is the highest qualification of the set and on top of the content taught in Level 1 & 2, it also covers the remaining Mental Health illnesses. The course is more designed to not only allow the learner to act as a First Aider for Mental Health but to also be a point of contact for a group of Mental Health First Aiders within a workplace. The course can be taught in 7 hours (two days) for face-to-face, or within 8 hours (one day) if delivered online (with additional pre-advised self learning).

  • At Castleford Training Solutions (CTS) you can learn any Mental Health qualifications we offer online, as well as in a training room face-to-face. Each online course has been designed to last approximately half the time of the same course if delivered face to face in a training room.

    There are pros and cons to online learning and each style of learning may suit different learners for different reasons. All the Mental Health courses cover emotive subjects (especially the level 2 and 3) and some learners may find it easier to remain in the lesson virtually with their camera off, while others may be able to connect more with the subject and practical elements of each course if they are in the same room as other learners. No matter your choice of delivery, the same certificate is awarded for sucessful completion of each of the courses.

    Our platform used to deliver training online is Zoom, and all links to lessons and assessments will be issued to the learner through email invitations.

  • The cost of Mental Health training varies depending on the Level of course you need. All levels can be trained face-to-face in a training room, or through Zoom as a distance learning course.

    Prices start from as little as £55.00