Trust me, I’m a Doctor…

Well, maybe not doctors. But as of December we are qualified first aiders.

We are both big believers in lifelong learning and so each year we make sure we invest some of our time and money in learning new skills and furthering our knowledge. This year we decided a really wise investment in ourselves and our business would be to spend three days doing a full first aid course with St Johns Ambulance.

While there is no legal requirement in our business (remarkably!) to be qualified a qualified first aider, we felt a moral and ethical responsibility to our clients to have the best training we could so, should the worst happen on a tour or workshop, we would at least be equipped to provide the best care we could until professionals were able to take over. We both carry first aid kits at all times and now have the proper training to use them.

Needless to say, while the aims behind the course are very serious indeed, the actual training does allow for some humour. As you can see from the images, Valda soon got into character as a victim of some terrible accidents and hammed up her performance to good effect. Obviously, my bedside manner was full of compassion and gentleness as I soothed and calmed her while quickly and efficiently dispensing expert treatment. However, when the roles were reversed, things were somewhat different. Sadly, as I was her patient, I don’t have images of her as ‘Nurse Ratchet’ where her persona changed entirely and she seemed more interested in maiming me when she was supposed to be treating me. I sensed a hitherto hidden sadistic streak I was previously unaware of that the donning of a nurses uniform seemed to unleash. I have a feeling she was getting her own back for all my ‘butler’ jokes at her expense.

So, if you are on one of our tours and need urgent assistance, you can choose your practitioner – Nurse Ratchet, or Dr. Kildare 😉 We cater for all requirements on Bailey Chinnery workshops, even medical ones, although we have, so far, never had an incident, and would prefer it to remain that way.