Basic Life Support is the training every member of a healthcare team needs: how to recognise a cardiac arrest, call for help, give high-quality CPR and use a defibrillator in the first minutes before help arrives.
We run it in your own space, so your team practises with the layout, phones and defibrillator they would actually use. Most of the session is hands-on, on manikins that give live feedback on compression depth and rate.
Who it's for
Everyone on staff, clinical and non-clinical: GPs, nurses, allied health, reception, practice managers and support staff.
Before you attend
None. None.
What you'll learn
- Recognise an unresponsive person who is not breathing normally, including agonal breathing
- Follow DRSABCD and call for help using your workplace's own emergency process
- Give high-quality chest compressions: correct hand position, depth, rate of 100–120 a minute and full recoil
- Give effective rescue breaths with a pocket mask at a ratio of 30:2
- Adapt CPR for children and infants
- Use an AED safely, from switching it on to delivering a shock
- Manage choking and place a person in the recovery position
- Recognise anaphylaxis and use an adrenaline autoinjector
Your training day
3 hours. No pre-reading; allow 3 hours 10 minutes including a break.
| Time | Session | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | Welcome and safety Objectives, manikin hygiene, and how your workplace calls for help | Briefing |
| 0:10 | The first minutes Chain of survival, DRSABCD, recognising cardiac arrest and agonal breathing | Demonstration and discussion |
| 0:25 | Adult CPR Compressions on feedback manikins, then rescue breaths with a pocket mask; stepwise practice until consistent | Skills station |
| 0:55 | Using an AED Pad placement, safe shock, continuing CPR, and where your nearest public AED is | Skills station |
| 1:15 | Break | |
| 1:25 | Child and infant CPR Differences in technique, depth and when to call | Skills station |
| 1:45 | Choking and recovery position Back blows and chest thrusts for adults, children and infants | Skills station |
| 2:00 | Anaphylaxis Recognition and adrenaline autoinjector use with trainer devices | Demonstration and practice |
| 2:10 | Workplace scenario A collapse in your waiting room or treatment room, run in real time: roles, calling for help, fetching the AED | In-situ simulation |
| 2:30 | Assessment Two minutes of continuous CPR on a floor-level manikin, and safe AED use | Practical assessment |
| 2:50 | Close Feedback, reflection and your refresher plan. Finish at 3:10 | Debrief |
Assessment and certificates
- Two minutes of continuous, effective CPR on an adult manikin on the floor, measured by a feedback device: compression depth about 5 cm and not more than 6 cm, rate of 100–120 a minute, full recoil, and minimal pauses
- Effective rescue breaths with a pocket mask at 30:2
- Safe use of an AED: switch on, apply pads correctly, ensure no one is touching the patient, deliver a shock, resume CPR immediately
Participants who meet every assessment criterion receive a certificate of competency showing the course, date, CPD hours and guideline version. Anyone who doesn't receives a certificate of attendance with specific feedback, and can be reassessed at a later session at no charge.
Training requirements and CPD
This course is designed to support the requirements below. Confirm your employer's certificate requirements before booking.
- RACGP Standards for general practices (5th ed.): Indicator C8.1►B (CPR training for non-clinical staff at least every three years) and GP3.1►A (CPR training for the clinical team)
- RACGP CPD: a CPR course of at least one hour, following ARC guidelines, with a physical CPR assessment on a manikin on the floor
- Annual CPR refreshers recommended by the Australian Resuscitation Council
3 planned learning hours. [CPD accreditation pending] Learning hours are not a guarantee of CPD credit or a specific CPD category.
- RACGP activity ID: [Activity ID pending]
- ACRRM activity ID: [Activity ID pending]
Official standards and how we document training →
Running the course at your workplace
Up to 15 per educator. Larger teams are split into back-to-back sessions on the same day.. A room where the group can kneel around manikins on the floor, such as a meeting room, or the waiting room after hours. A few chairs and a power point.
Equipment we bring
- Adult, child and infant CPR manikins with real-time feedback (1 per 3 participants)
- AED trainers with training pads
- Pocket masks and single-use face shields
- Adrenaline autoinjector trainers
- Manikin hygiene supplies as per ANZCOR Guideline 10.3
Travel within metropolitan Melbourne is included. Regional and interstate travel is quoted before you book.
Course questions
The proposed course is designed around these requirements. Final materials and assessment must be approved by our educators before delivery. RACGP Standards require CPR training for non-clinical staff (Indicator C8.1►B) and clinical staff (GP3.1►A) at least every three years. The training must follow ARC guidelines, include AED use, and assess CPR physically on a manikin on the floor. Our BLS course does all of this, and you get a group training record for your accreditation file.
The RACGP minimum is every three years, but the Australian Resuscitation Council recommends refreshing CPR at least once a year because skills fade quickly. Ask about a yearly refresher plan for your team.
No. It is our own course, following current ANZCOR guidelines, which is what the RACGP Standards ask for. If your workplace specifically needs HLTAID009 or HLTAID011, ask us: we are setting these up with a registered training organisation.