Would you cope in an emergency?

The local Air Ambulance is called out 3-5 times a day and is based at Thruxton

A new series of Helicopter Heroes on BBC One - follows the life-saving work of an Air Ambulance crew.

When this team go to rescue someone they often find passers-by have used first aid to keep the injured person alive while they wait for help.

Would you feel confident treating someone at the scene of an accident?

St John Ambulance is offering free emergency training courses to help increase the number of first-aiders and save more lives.

St John Ambulance

The first few minutes in an injury are crucial but, on average, in a city it takes an ambulance 8 minutes to arrive.

The three-day First Aid At Work course run by St John Ambulance gives training to people from a variety of employment backgrounds so that they would know what to do in that crucial period following an accident.

Most workplaces offer first aid courses through St John Ambulance

They are assessed in Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), mouth-to-mouth, stemming bleeding and the recovery position.

The instructor of the course in Bitterne is Michelle Dobson. She says:

"Trainees have to do a lot of practical work to learn how to look after a variety of different casualties and learn how to keep them safe before the ambulance arrives."

Making all the difference

St John Ambulance volunteers are present at many public events, and thousands of people have reason to be grateful to them.

Three years ago 12 year-old Chris Stewart was racing a car at a grass track event near Alresford when his car crashed into a barrier. Chris' skull was detached from his spine in the accident and St John Ambulance were the first on the scene.

Chris' mother, Debbie Stewart says: "They were there within seconds. They were calm, efficient and worked really well as a team.

"They were really good with Christopher - but also with me as well. I needed to be reassured as much as him!"

Chris Stewart is alive today thanks to St John Ambulance

Volunteer Richard Coleman kept Chris stable until he was cut out of the wreckage almost an hour later. Debbie says he was a hero.

Chris Stewart has just celebrated his 15th birthday and he is grateful to the St John Ambulance team that he can celebrate his birthday at all:

"They were great - and not only have they helped me but they put time and effort into helping loads of others as well."

Air Ambulance

Martyn Kingdon, Air Operations Manager for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, says: "We cannot be everywhere all of the time and unfortunately demand for our service often exceeds our resources.

"So the help of people who are qualified in basic life support can make a real difference between life and death if they are on the scene before us.

"The difference they make is not only to the victim but to their family - emotional support is as valuable as practical help."

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance made its first flight on 1 July 2007, and to date the aircraft has made 1,856 missions throughout the county, many of them life saving.

The helicopter can be airborne within four minutes of a 999 call, transporting the patient to the most appropriate hospital for their injury.

Martyn has helped many people in varying circumstances - from road accidents to delivering babies - and has personally saved one person's life.

He adds: "You can be on call 364 days a week and not be in a life-saving situation. But if you make a difference to someone's outcome on the 365th day then all that training has been worthwhile.

How you can become a first aider

To get involved in the BBC's How to Save a Life Week, book an emergency life support course with St John Ambulance by calling 08700 10 49 50.

St John Ambulance train 575,000 people each year in first aid and provide treatment and care to 125,000 patients on an annual basis - many of whom are in life-threatening situations.

When booking a course calls cost up to 8p/min from some landlines (min connection fee of 8p may apply). Calls from other networks may vary; calls from mobiles may cost considerably more.

Helicopter Heroes is on Monday - Friday at 0915 on BBC One.