Considering the natural disasters and emergencies the community has gone through, it was more than necessary for St John Ambulance Australia to reestablish first aid training at Batemans Bay.
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General manager for training and development, Marty Thomas, said knowing first aid can make a difference to your safety, family, work colleagues and the wider community.
Mr Thomas said the community should know how to respond to a first aid emergency and recognise when to seek medical help.
"It could be a domestic emergency, such as someone injuring themselves on a tractor, or something major like the bushfires," he said.
"We hope the training will give that capability, to help the community become self sufficient in a time of emergency."
Mr Thomas believed everyone should be confident in providing CPR, "where minutes count towards whether a patient survives or not".
"Most CPR or cardiac incidents happen outside the work environment, they happen at home or when with friends," Mr Thomas said.
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"Those skills you will hopefully never use, but it is likely to be used on someone you know, than don't know."
He said many people didn't know what a defibrillator was - a life-saving device used to treat sudden cardiac arrest.
"In our standard first aid course, there is a fair bit of myth busting to do - it (defibrillator) is quite simple to operate," he said.
Mr Thomas said a study showed only five percent of Australians were first aid trained - one of the lowest rates in the world.
He said St John's Ambulance will schedule as many classes as needed, depending on community demand.
"First aid is so easy to learn, anyone aged 6-96 can be competent," he said.
"I would encourage anyone to either brush up their skills or learn first aid."
From April 22, first aid training will run once a month out of the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club.
Courses will run from 8.30am to 4.30pm and will be available for members of the public, focusing on first aid which includes life-saving techniques such as CPR, and how to use a defibrillator.
To book visit www.stjohnnsw.com.au or call 1300 785 646.