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Around 60,000 Ramblers group walks take place every year – in every season, landscape and terrain. The majority of these walks are incident free, but sometimes things can go wrong. Someone may trip and fall or start to feel unwell, and in rare cases you may be faced with a serious emergency.
We recommend that you carry a first aid kit, and have a nominated ‘first aider’ on every walk. Thanks to support from the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, we’re now working with St John Ambulance, St Andrews and St John Cymru to provide first aid advice and training for Ramblers volunteers.
On these pages you can find tips, guidance and training opportunities to support you when faced with an emergency on a group walk – whether cut & grazes, or something more serious.
If you have questions, please contact the delivery team on 020 3961 3180 / volunteersupport@ramblers.zendesk.com
COVID-19 and First Aid – Advice for volunteers
St John Ambulance and the Resuscitation Council have produced guidance for first aiders during the coronavirus pandemic. Follow the links to find out more.
If you’re a Ramblers volunteer, we recommend including face masks, disposable gloves and hand sanitiser with your first aid supplies, to help keep yourself and others safe while providing first aid.
Find out more and refresh your skills with first aid guidance and tips.
Find out more about our first aid training courses – sign up or get in touch.
It is best practice to have a nominated ‘first aider’ on every group walk. This can be whoever is best placed to take on the role, and is not necessarily the walk leader.
It’s best practice to carry a basic first aid kit on every group walk. Some groups invest in shared kits to pass between walk leaders, re-stocking when necessary. The items you choose to carry will depend on the difficulty and type of walk you are leading, but a basic first aid kit may contain:
If an individual on a walk requires first aid, any member of the group can provide assistance until qualified help arrives. There is no danger of compromising insurance cover when providing first aid as required. It’s better to do something rather than nothing at all. You can find out more in the Insurance Toolkit.
Please complete the Incident Report Form after incidents involving injury, property damage, or a near miss. You can download an Incident Report Form from Assemble. The form should be completed by a Ramblers member as soon as possible, and sent to incidents@ramblers.org.uk.
If the incident is serious, please call the delivery team on 020 3961 3180 during office hours or 07854 848083 outside office hours.
Download an In Case of Emergency Card, or get in touch on 020 3961 3180 or volunteersupport@ramblers.zendesk.com to order a batch for your group.
Download the free app from St John Ambulance