Get started with first-aid learning at home

Would you know where to begin if someone nearby needed first aid? Government Prepare encourages basic first-aid learning, and nidirect includes it alongside household preparation. You don't need to buy an elaborate kit before finding a suitable way to learn.

Think about who could take part. You might learn with someone you live with, a friend or a community group. If one person usually deals with everything, ask whether someone else would like to learn too. Living alone does not prevent you learning skills that may help someone else.

1. Decide whether you want learning about adults, babies and children, or both. Check the provider's description rather than assuming every session covers the same needs.
2. Look for a recognised first-aid organisation's own learning information. Ask about the format, practical participation, accessibility, cost and any eligibility requirements before booking.
3. Check what completion means. St John Ambulance's community awareness sessions do not provide certification. If you need a formal qualification for work or another role, check that requirement separately.

St John Ambulance's awareness-session page describes an England-only offer for eligible groups and schools. It directs people elsewhere to St John Ambulance Cymru in Wales, St Andrew's First Aid in Scotland and St John Ambulance Northern Ireland. Use those organisations' current information to check local options; availability and eligibility are not identical across the UK.

Nidirect also identifies the British Red Cross and St John Ambulance as training routes in Northern Ireland. These are starting points for enquiries, not a promise of a free local place or a particular qualification.

Look at what you already have. Government Prepare gives examples of basic first-aid supplies, including plasters, bandages, sterile dressings and gloves. You do not need a universal quantity or a specialist equipment list to begin organising them.

Keep supplies together in a clearly identifiable place. NHS 111 Wales's family first-aid guidance advises keeping the box out of children's reach but handy for adults, and letting other carers know where it is. Replace used items and check use-by dates.

Use the boxes while you read, or tick them on a printed copy. This site doesn't save your ticks.

• Choose a learning provider to contact and ask whether its offer suits the people who want to attend.
• Find the first-aid supplies already at home and tell the people who may need them where they are kept.
• Agree who will replace used items, without making one person the household's only source of help.
• Keep the learning arrangement with your household plan. Use the medicines and care guide for ordinary care continuity, a separate task from learning first aid.