Medical Gases courses

Patients with traumatic injuries or serious medical conditions can benefit significantly from additional oxygen and/or pain relief via an analgesic gas.

Our course in medical gases administration will give learners the skills and confidence to be able to safely use both oxygen, and analgesic gases (eg Entonox®). We will train learners in the use of oxygen as an adjunct to resuscitation, and both gases as an additional patient benefit in cases of injury or illness, as appropriate.

Our medical gases course has the same content as our Oxygen Administration course, but with the analgesic gases module included. Please note that this part of the course may not be appropriate for you if you do not have access to a prescribing professional that is able to define and implement policies for the use of prescription medications by lay-responders.

Our medical gases administration courses are delivered by experienced and current qualified professionals with vast experience in using the equipment and techniques taught during the course. Most of our trainers are either emergency ambulance crew or Registered Nurses with a traumacare background. They also have considerable working experience of real work environments in industry and leisure which brings practical knowledge to the course.

Almost any work environment can benefit from having oxygen available for sick or injured patients, and there is no requirement for an occupational health department or medical director to obtain medical grade oxygen from suppliers. If your first aid needs assessment has identified particular issues where casualties are likely to become hypoxic, such as drowning, or work in low oxygen atmospheres (eg computer rooms with fire suppression systems, archive storage areas, fruit/vegetable storage/packing areas, refrigeration plant rooms, pool plant rooms, or other confined spaces), or you have identified a significant risk with medical conditions with patients, (eg severe asthma, or cardiac conditions), or you work in more remote areas where ambulance response times may be longer, your workplace may benefit from considering the use of oxygen as part of any treatment plan for casualties involved in such incidents.

Analgesic gases are of benefit for pain relief in some patients. The gas itself is a pharmacy classification drug, and is therefore not available to all organisations. This course is therefore appropriate to organisations able to obtain and use analgesic gases under a prescription or authorisation from a medical prescriber, and with adequate policies and insurance in place for such use. If you have any queries regarding this, please ask.

Course contents

The RescueSkills Medical Gases Administration course will provide learners with the skill to be able to:

• Safely handle and store medical gas cylinders
• Identify key parts of the anatomy and physiology of respiration
• Identify conditions suitable for treatment with Oxygen therapy, and contraindications / cautions
• Assemble various types of oxygen administration equipment ready for use
• Resuscitate patients using adjuncts:
  • Revision of basic airway management
  • Oropharyngeal airways
  • Nasopharyngeal airways
  • Bag-valve-mask (BVM) use
  • Pocket mask use
• Provide airway management with suction equipment
• Use and identify limitations of pulse oximetry in oxygen therapy
• Provide oxygen therapy for trauma and medical patients in accordance with the British Thoracic Society/JRCALC guidelines
• Start to lead and direct a team during a medical/trauma incident
• Identify conditions suitable for treatment with analgesic gases, and contraindications/cautions
• Assemble analgesic gas equipment and prepare ready for use

Session duration

The course lasts a minimum of 6 contact hours, but may need to be extended if learners require extra hands-on practice to be able to demonstrate skills adequately to the trainer/assessor.

Pre-requisites for attendance

In order to attend and qualify on our Oxygen administration course, the learner must have a current (in-date) First Aid at Work certificate or a recognised equivalent (or higher) qualification, and also be aged 18 or over. An Automated External Defibrillator qualification would also be beneficial, but is not essential.

Certification

Certificates of competence will be issued following successful completion of this course by the learners. Assessment of the learners skills will be by continuous assessment by the trainer/assessor, and a written/multiple choice exam.

Certificates are valid for 1 year, at which time they must be renewed by re-qualification. The shorter re-qualification period reflects the higher skill levels required on this course, and that skills fade for those not regularly using the skills could seriously affect patient outcomes if incorrectly applied.

Re-qualification

To re-qualify in this qualification, learners must attend the oxygen administration course or medical gases course again.

Scheduled Courses and Booking

Sorry - no current public courses found, please contact to us to ask about availability for this course, or to book an on-site course at your venue.

Don't see a course that meets your requirements? Need to book a course at your venue for a small group? Please contact us.

We offer courses in Hampshire, West Sussex, Surrey, Berkshire, Dorset, and further afield. We are based in Fareham, Hampshire.

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