Complete Care Training
Basic Life Support - First Aid Awareness
First Aid & Emergency ResponseLevel 1

Basic Life Support - First Aid Awareness

When someone collapses on your shift, the first minutes belong to you. The ambulance is on its way, and what you do before it arrives can shape what the crew finds. Built on Resuscitation Council UK Guidelines 2025, this course shows you how to recognise a life-threatening emergency, run the primary survey, start CPR where the person lies (including on a bed), place a breathing casualty in the recovery position, and respond to choking. It also teaches the point a coroner has found the sector does not know: a DNACPR does not stop you treating a reversible cause such as choking. You will learn to work with the 999 call handler, hand over to paramedics, record what you did, and look after yourself afterwards. This is awareness-level training. It does not replace a regulated First Aid at Work qualification, and it does not on its own meet Care Certificate Standard 12, which requires practical assessment by observation. What it gives you is the knowledge to act calmly and correctly when acting matters most.

1 hour 34 minutes
Created by Sophie Barber Updated 10/2026 English
Part of Mandatory Training · Course 1 of 15
  • 100% online, any time
  • On any device
  • Accredited certificate on completion
  • Learn by doing
  • Storytelling built around your routine
  • Audio and alt text throughout
£18.00, was £20.00Lifetime access
or

Subscribe from £29.99 a month

Compare plans

What you'll learn

Identify the signs of a life-threatening emergency requiring immediate action.
Describe the correct sequence of the primary survey (DRABC) in a care setting.
State the correct technique for placing a casualty in the recovery position.
Recognise when and how to summon emergency help appropriately.

Course content

6 modules

How to spot the moment a routine visit becomes an emergency: unresponsiveness, abnormal breathing and agonal gasps, stroke signs, sudden confusion. If in doubt, assume cardiac arrest and act.
The primary survey step by step: DR ABC mapped to the RCUK 2025 sequence of Check, Call, CPR. Why you now call 999 for any unresponsive person before you assess their breathing.
Adult CPR: 30:2 if trained, compressions only if not, 100 to 120 per minute, 5 to 6 cm deep, started where the person lies, even on a bed. Plus getting an AED to the scene and using it.
When and how to place an unresponsive, normally breathing adult in the recovery position, step by step. When you must not use it, and why you keep checking breathing until the crew takes over.
The adult choking sequence from cough to CPR, why a DNACPR never stops you treating a reversible cause, and how to brief the 999 call handler and hand over safely to the ambulance crew.
The graded assessment: ten questions drawn from a 30-question bank covering the whole course. Pass it to complete your certificate.

Specialist

Sophie Barber

A qualified teacher, examiner and content creator, Sophie has over 10 years experience developing resources for examination boards to ensure that they are using effective learning tools. An ex-medic, Sophie has a huge passion for the healthcare profession and the importance of delivering quality care.

Training you can trust

How this course works. You will work through self-paced modules, check your understanding with knowledge checks, and finish with a short assessment. On passing, your CPD-certified certificate is available to download immediately, ready for your CQC evidence file or employer records.

Recommended renewal: every year. Your certificate is valid for 12 months. Skills for Care's minimum for most topics is every 3 years. Refresher periods by topic

Accredited by CPD

All of our courses are accredited by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to universally accepted Continuing Professional Development (CPD) guidelines.

Frequently asked questions

There is no deadline: a one-off purchase gives you lifetime access to the course, including updates, so you can complete it at your own pace across shifts.
Yes. Every course is accredited by the CPD Certification Service, and the certificate states the course, the level and the date you passed.
Yes. It works on phone, tablet and computer, and your progress syncs between them.
Your certificate is generated the moment you pass the final assessment, ready to download or print.