Tag Archives: first aid

Mental Health Awareness Week 2019 #EmpowerHalfHour

By Kirsten Johnson | Wed 15th May 2019 - 8:30 am

The Where’s Your Head At? campaign launched a Workplace Manifesto on Monday. As part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2019, this campaign is raising awareness of how employers and businesses can better support their employees’ mental health and well-being. It is a straightforward manifesto which the campaign is calling all employers to sign. The principals, in brief, are:

1. Everyone has mental health

2. We need to build a diverse and inclusive workplace to lead to a
happier and healthier working environment

3. We need to treat mental and physical health equally in the workplace

4. Employers need to turn mental health awareness into positive action

Point number three is the renewed call for equality of mental and physical first aid under health and safety legislation – an initiative I led at Lib Dem party conference in Liverpool in 2015 and which was first presented to parliament as an Early Day Motion by Norman Lamb MP. It has been debated in Parliament, and pressure is on to change this legislation.

Point number four calls for six specific actions, that workplaces

WATCH: Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton talk about saving his 4 year old daughter from choking

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 12th March 2019 - 10:25 am

I was heading to my bed on Saturday night when I saw this tweet from Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton:

Not your average Saturday night. I had to partially resuscitate Darcy (4) after she swallowed a coin. Blue lighted to Sick Kids and had coin (E50 cents) removed under general anaesthetic. Staff have been wonderful and so good to Darcy. Heroes all. pic.twitter.com/Gt98Vg9PHf

— Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP (@agcolehamilton) March 9, 2019

Scary, scary stuff. The thought of my child choking was probably one of the things that scared me most. I made sure I knew what do do if that happened, but I’m glad I never had to demonstrate the skill.

Thank heavens little Darcy was fine, due to skills learned by her Dad a quarter of a century ago.

I had a friend who doesn’t do social media and who’s on holiday in Australia contact me to say they’d seen Alex featured in the press so many people across the world will have seen his new found mission to raise awareness of what happened to his daughter to make sure that every parent is equipped with first aid skills.

His actions will save more lives than Darcy’s.

The very next morning a member of my family faced a medical emergency at which first aid was required.

Posted in News | Also tagged Alex Cole-Hamilton and choking | 1 Comment