Minister Denis Naughten has once again joined up with Millie’s Trust to host a paediatric first aid course aimed at parents and grandparents on Sunday 20th November in Roscommon Town.
This is the second time Millie’s Trust will have provided first aid training in Roscommon at the invitation of Denis Naughten, who previously took the unusual step of opening his constituency offices to host the courses.
As well as training parents and grandparents in what to do if a child in their care needs first aid, the aim of this course is to raise awareness of the need to change the law to make sure that everybody working with, or caring for pre-school children, is trained in paediatric first aid.
Outlining the current law, Minister Naughten stated: “At present the law only requires that one person on the premises be trained in paediatric first aid: a fact that will shock many parents and grandparents of young children alike.
“While there are many people employed in this area who are undoubtedly trained specifically in this area of first aid the fact remains that any crèche etc is only required by law to have one person on the premises with such training. I believe this situation needs to be addressed urgently.”
He added: “I previously opened up my constituency offices to host these courses, firstly to encourage all parents to have a basic understanding of paediatric first aid and, secondly, to promote the need to change the law in this area to ensure that everybody working with or caring for young children has paediatric first aid. I am delighted that Millie’s Trust will now be returning to Roscommon to provide another training course.”
Millie’s Trust is a charity dedicated to providing first aid training for families. Joanne and Dan Thompson’s daughter Millie passed away in October 2012 aged just nine months following a choking incident that occurred while she was in the care of a nursery in the UK.
Following her death they established Millie’s Trust which offers training in paediatric first aid for families and also more extensive training courses for those employed in childcare. They have joined Minister Naughten in campaigning for a change to the law governing first aid in childcare facilities and will meet with the Minister for Children, Katherine Zappone, as well as with Minister Naughten, in November regarding this campaign.
Denis Naughten added: “As a parent it is your worst fear that your child would start to choke and whether you would know what to do in that situation.”
To book a place on the course go to http://www.milliestrust.com/first-aid-courses/family-first-aid-courses?product_id=563
Parents can access information on what to do if your baby starts to choke by logging on to http://www.milliestrust.com/first-aid-tips/choking-baby
To find out more about Millie’s Trust log on to www.milliestrust.com or www.facebook.com/milliestrust