Charity Profile - Casualties Union

Supporting rescue, first aid & medical training by Lynn Smith

This month’s charity is unusual amongst those organisations I’ve interviewed recently, its mission isn’t to raise funds to enable research into a particular disease or condition, or to assist a particular group in society, or to conserve a specific area of land or species. In fact, Casualties Union doesn’t engage in fundraising as an activity at all and the charity’s remit is to provide a service to a whole stratum of society – those in medical care, first aid and rescue services. A registered charity and independent voluntary organisation, Casualties Union provides acting and reacting casualties, and patients, for the medical profession, emergency services and those teaching first aid, nursing and rescue. The charity’s volunteers spare the time to train and practice casualty simulation, sharing the conviction that rescue, first aid and medical training is improved by having casualties and patients who look and behave as realistically as possible. Using make up members create the illusion of illness or injury, from a faint to a heart attack or from a splinter to a protruding broken bone. Studying how victims would behave, adopting appropriate posture and facial expression and speech they respond to “treatment” by providing vital feedback both during the scenarios or roleplay and in debrief sessions. Bringing realism to training for 80 years Hon. General Secretary and Trustee, Caroline Thomas tells me that the charity was founded in 1942, during World War II, by Eric Claxton, who was training the Civil Defence to bring bomb victims out of damaged buildings. To improve the rescuer’s skills, Eric Caxton introduced the idea of casualty simulation, with real people and madeup injuries, which would require greater care to extricate than would dummies. “The success of this idea inspired his colleagues to form an organisation, which carried on into peacetime, ” Caroline says, “And this year we are eighty years old.” Caroline first discovered Casualties Union, at a big first aid competition run by St John Ambulance, which she had joined as a volunteer. “There were these people, apparently badly hurt or collapsed unwell. With an interest in drama and theatrical make-up I decided to join them. Before long I was London Branch Leader, worked up through the grades to Senior Instructor, and Worthing Branch Leader Norleen Smith with a simulated head injury

have served for many years as General Secretary and one of the Trustees.” No paid workers - fun volunteering opportunities Casualties Union has no paid employees. Caroline tells me, “Every member of the organisation is a volunteer, doing the work because it’s worthwhile, rewarding and fun. We currently have about 260 members. It is a lot less than during the 1950s and 1960s, when people were looking for ways to spend their leisure time. Nowadays people are so busy and have many other interests. But it’s the dedicated ones that stay on year after year. “Our volunteers are attached to units around England and Wales, where they attend training sessions in these skills and volunteer for duties, ranging from a first aid course to a big plane crash exercise at an airport.” Unsurprisingly, the 2020 lockdown hit the organisation hard: “We could no longer meet for training or carry out any duties. It was a bad time for the whole of Casualties Union, not being able to be with our colleagues doing the thing we love so much. Worthing Branch lost two members

who were nurses and no longer had the leisure time to be members. ”Caroline goes onto say that the Trustees used this ‘inactive’ time to consult together on governance for improving and modernising our charity. “The autumn of 2021 saw easing of restrictions and we felt safer with vaccination, so outdoor duties with masks commenced in some parts of the country, and it is now picking up very nicely.” How is the service funded? Most of Casualties Union funding comes from those organisations that use the charity’s services. Caroline tells me that, “When a client wants to use our volunteers to help in their training or practice exercises, the local branch negotiates a figure that will cover their expenses to get there and back, make-up costs and a bit to cover administration, training and generally to support our charity.” The greatest challenge said Caroline is matching the client’s need with the number of volunteers available to provide the service. Worthing branch needs a training venue Active since 2015, the Worthing Branch is one of the more recent branches and Caroline encourages “… that anyone in the area needing realism

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Unit 2 Northbrook Business Park, Northbrook Road, Worthing, BN14 8PQ 01903 823 803 in their training programme for rescue, first aid and medical care should please contact Worthing Branch.” She goes on to say that more urgently the branch is seeking an inexpensive venue for holding their training meetings “and would be delighted to receive offers.” However, the branch’s continuing success, along with that of the charity, relies upon recruiting more volunteers and welcomes anyone, “From the age of eight upwards, with no upper age limit, and from any background or culture. We embrace diversity because it reflects the population. A knowledge of first aid helps but is not

essential: we train new members in everything they need to know [in order] to make-up and act a variety of conditions and injuries, and we keep studying and practising throughout our time with the charity.” Car crashes, explosions and terrorist attacks Worthing branch is, “In the very capable hands of (Branch Leader) Norleen Smith,” and has provided its services as casualties for a diverse number of organisations. Worthing Branch has worked with student doctors and paramedics, setting up scenes that portray accidents and medical emergencies. “At Brighton University a scene was set up in a laboratory where the mixing of chemicals had caused an explosion. The Branch members simulated burns and embedded glass in their faces and hands.” The branch has also participated in a mock terrorist attack, staged at Gatwick Airport, to help the airport staff and emergency services to perfect their procedures and members have been extricated from smashed cars in a simulated traffic collision for East Sussex Fire Brigade. They have helped train Red Cross first aiders and the Navy on Whale Island in Portsmouth. Worthing Branch of Casualties Union runs regular training meetings where volunteers learn skills in acting, professional make-up techniques and staging – all to make the incident and injury seem as realistic as possible. A key factor when the members provide their services as “casualties” for organisations; it is these skills, that provide the realism that the charity’s clients need in their own training. Casualties Union volunteers are offered a full training programme and as well a comprehensive manual to study. All members are covered by the charity’s public liability insurance. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact the Worthing Branch direct and, Caroline says, branch members plan to have a stall at the Heene Community Centre this summer, where they will hand out publicity leaflets, display photos of their work and demonstrate injury makeup on each other. They will welcome all enquiries from anyone interested in either using them or joining them. Charity number: 234672 Tel: 0870 0780 590 email: hq.cu@casualtiesunion.org.uk or info@casualtiesunion.org.uk www.casualtiesunion.org.uk