Ingrid Baker, a mum of two lovely daughters from Northfield, has been given a scare not once but twice whilst raising her two young children and believes her knowledge of paediatric first aid training has helped to save her daughters from serious and life-threatening injuries. Her eldest daughter Maria, now 10-years-old, began choking when she was just 18-months-old after her windpipe became blocked on a potato wedge. Thanks to Ingrid’s close attention to detail and noticing that her daughter had gone completely quiet, she soon realised Maria’s airway was blocked and her instincts kicked in. She didn’t panic, but performed three sharp back blows, whilst checking her daughter’s breathing in between blows, and eventually cleared the airway to save Maria’s life.

Events on that day were the catalyst for Ingrid to undergo further paediatric first aid training to ensure that she was well-equipped to react should an emergency or an unthinkable accident ever happen again. As a mum looking to go into childcare as a profession, she knew that for her own peace of mind she needed the knowledge to save a life in the event of an emergency situation.

And she didn’t have to wait long to use her knowledge after her second child, Georgia, who is now two-years-old sustained a serious burn injury. Georgia was just one-year-old when a frightening accident happened while Ingrid’s best friend, Emma, was looking after her. Almost a year to the day (on July 2nd 2015), Ingrid received a phone call at work from her friend. Georgia ran around her friend in the living room in a flurry of excitement and in the blink of an eye, had managed to pull a fresh, boiling hot cup of tea off a high top table over her upper body.   

Emma and Ingrid worked together and their actions that day saved Georgia from severe long-term skin damage. Emma instantly put the affected areas under cool, running water which is the recommended action to take. Whilst on the phone, Ingrid instructed her friend to remain calm and continued to instruct Emma to ensure that the areas where Georgia had been scolded were kept under running water and dampened with a cool cloth. Ingrid arrived on the scene and continued to provide first aid treatment before calling an ambulance. When the paramedics got to her, they praised their efforts and skin specialists at the hospital say it was their knowledge of paediatric first aid which allowed Georgia’s body to recover without serious damage.

Whilst being rushed to A&E, an Aloe Vera gel was applied to the skin and medical staff at the Birmingham Queen Elizabeth hospital constantly kept the area clean while Georgia was under morphine treatment. Georgia stayed overnight in the observation unit and was discharged after a week. Today, the areas affected on her body are slightly white but have repaired extremely well now new skin has formed.

A painful and extremely awful time for Ingrid and her family, but this is why Ingrid places so much value on paediatric first aid and urges any new parents to top up their knowledge. This week she has been involved in endorsing a new campaign, Child Safety First. The campaign, run by Busy Bees Early Years Training Academy, part of the Busy Bees childcare group, in partnership with national independent charity Ronald McDonald House Charities, aims to ensure more people in the Birmingham and the West Midlands who regularly care for under 5s, including parents, grandparents and childcare professionals, become sufficiently skilled and confident in the basics of Paediatric First Aid.

Ingrid explains: “In such situations, the last thing you think will happen is your first aid training will kick in. However, having experienced it first-hand, my knowledge of paediatric first aid training played a huge part in helping my two daughters and it really does allow you to remain calm while others might panic. I would urge any new parent to ensure they are equipped should the unthinkable happen with their child by undertaking the necessary first aid training”

As part of the campaign, a number of free paediatric workshops have been held throughout the West Midlands, starting at Ronald McDonald House in Birmingham, with a view to rolling them out across the UK throughout the year. Ingrid and her two daughters attended the day to speak to parents and families about the importance of using paediatric first aid and her experiences with her two daughters.

Busy Bees Early Years Training Academy and Ronald McDonald House Charities have created a handy A5 booklet containing important information on Paediatric First Aid Training, over 1,000 copies of which are being distributed across the West Midlands. It will also be available for all to download from the Busy Bees Training Website.

Talking about the campaign, Fay Gibbin, Training Manager at Busy Bees Early Years Training Academy said:

“We’re incredibly proud to launch this campaign as it is a cause that we, as a company, are incredibly passionate about. Nothing is more precious to a parent than their child’s safety, and nothing is more important to us than the safety of the children that we care for in our nurseries.

“We hope that by raising awareness of the importance of Paediatric First Aid training throughout the campaign, potentially thousands of additional adults will be equipped, knowledgeable and confident in delivering the right treatment quickly and efficiently should the situation ever arise.”