
What does a burn look like on a child with black skin? What colour changes might we see on a choking baby or a child of colour? These are just a few of the questions that Mini First Aid addresses in their award-winning campaign, ‘Diverse Perspectives’.
As the top provider of paediatric first aid across the UK, Mini First Aid is leading the field in making first aid education more inclusive, improving health outcomes for people across all communities.
Mini First Aid have proudly received the Award for Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Champion at the Female Business Awards on Friday, 15th November, 2024, at the Manchester Victoria and Albert Hotel.
Kate Ball, Founder and Director of Mini First Aid says:
“I am delighted that we have been recognised with this award. At Mini First Aid, we want to make sure that first aid education is relevant to all communities. It is shocking that the health imagery available across the UK, so often uses white skin as the sole reference point. What if that does not apply to you or the person you are treating? We want to improve health outcomes for all communities so having an inclusive mindset is vital.”
Mini First Aid are passionate about making sure first aid is inclusive and teach how conditions may present on black and brown skin, as well as for white skin and outlines the important of knowing all signs and symptoms in a range of first aid situations. Kate says;
“It is vital that we do not assume that everyone in a first aid or emergency situation presents in the same way. If a child is choking for example, we are often taught to look for the child turning blue. This would not happen to a child with black or brown skin, so we need to look for other signs. Mini First Aid are leading the field in making first aid relevant for all communities and helping to save more lives.”
ALL Mini First Aid trainers make sure every single Mini First Aid class across the UK is inclusive and relevant to all communities.
The Female Business Awards are now in their 3rd year, and recognises the successes and achievements of female-led small businesses across the UK. This year over 600 small businesses were nominated across 15 categories.
Female Business Awards co-host Janine Friston says: “We are thrilled to confirm this year’s award finalists and winners, who have clearly made a positive difference and impact to their clients and audience. Our vision with the Female Business Awards is to recognise and celebrate those female-led small businesses who are often forgotten about in other awards. Female business owners often set up and run their businesses around other responsibilities, such as younger children, and so desire and need the flexibility that running their own business can provide. Being able to showcase some of these amazing female business owners is fantastic.”
Mini First Aid: Being Inclusive
In Mini First Aid classes, adults and children learn about a range of first aid situations including high temperature, choking, burns, meningitis, sepsis, shock and bleeding. For each situation, Mini First Aid teaches and shows a whole range of clinical signs and symptoms and how they present on white and darker skin tones. Examples include:
Burns:
On white skin, burns present as red/pink. On black skin, burns present as ashy / greyish in colour.
Choking
A person with white skin may turn blue, but this doesn’t happen straightaway. Often the person will become silent. If checking a change in colour for people with brown/black skin, check the nail beds and inside of the mouth.
Shock
For a person with white skin, his/her skin goes pale if in shock. On black/brown skin, you will not necessarily observe a colour change. You need to look at other clinical signs. These include sweating and/or difficulty in breathing for example. You can also check for ‘blueness’ on the person’s nail beds, tongue and inside of mouth
High temperature
A child with white skin will often appear ‘flushed’. This will not be the same for a child with brown/black/darker skin.
Meningitis
The classic ‘rash’ (which does not disappear when a glass is rolled over it) is often a later symptom of meningitis. On white skin, this presents as a red rash, but this may not be the case on black skin which often looks purple/grey-ish, so can be missed. Other symptoms, therefore, are vitally important which include headache, stuff neck, aversion to light, drowsiness, and vomiting.
Sepsis
Sepsis is difficult to diagnose as the symptoms are often similar to other illnesses. It is extremely difficult to finds images of what sepsis looks like on brown/black skin, so it is vital to know the other symptoms which include difficult in breathing, ‘rattling’ breath, grunting, and muscles in the ribs and stomach ‘tucking in’.
Note
Mini First Aid no longer uses the rhyme to refer to choking:
‘Loud and red, let them go ahead. Silent and blue they need help from you.’
Mini First Aid has introduced a more inclusive rhyme:
‘Noisy and regular colour, no need for help from another.
Silent, ashy or grey. Help without delay.’