|
SAVE
A BIKER’S LIFE
ST. JOHN Ambulance and Bikesure team up to promote the
Emergency Aid for Motorcyclists course. The biker lying in the
middle of the road is unconscious and having trouble breathing...
Should you take the helmet off?
Bikesure is helping St. John Ambulance to promote a new course,
Emergency Aid For Motorcyclists, designed to help save bikers’
lives. St. John Ambulance is the UK's leading First Aid charity and
Bikesure is the motorcycle insurance specialist based in Kings Lynn,
Norfolk.
UK bikers have a poor safety record compared to other road users.
Their KSI (killed or serious injury) rate per million vehicle
kilometres is 16 times that of car drivers and passengers. (In 2004
5,489 bikers and 367 pillion passengers were killed or seriously
injured.)
This is the first course the first aid charity has run that
specifically covers motorcycle accidents. Bikesure has agreed to
underwrite the costs of the national campaign to publicise the
course. St. John Ambulance devised the course to help anyone
arriving first at the scene of a motorbike accident. What steps
should a biker take? What should they look out for? One of the most
critical questions is, of course, should the helmet be removed? Just
as important, given all the different types of helmet and
fastenings, how do you remove the helmet? The course covers a
variety of other issues, including the many types of injury that
might be encountered.
Bikesure has paid for the design, printing and distribution of a
promotional leaflet for the course, which offers basic advice on
first aid at a motorbike accident as well as giving details of the
full course. The leaflet is available free of charge from your local
St. John Ambulance headquarters. The publicity campaign also
includes PR and advertising, as well as running courses for biking
journalists interested in publicising the initiative.
"We were alerted to the course through Laura Pettifer, a local
biker who lost her partner Tony Petch in 2003 in a tragic biking
accident", says Robert Balls of Bikesure. "She was
arranging for St. John Ambulance to run the new course in King's
Lynn, and we offered to pay the cost of holding that particular
session. Following discussions with the first aid charity we decided
we’d like to help more. Covering the cost of the campaign to
publicise the course on a national basis seemed the best way.”
"We are delighted that Bikesure is working with us to promote
the importance of motorcycle safety,” says Richard Evens,
St. John Ambulance director of training and marketing and a keen
motorcyclist. “The St. John Ambulance course is aimed
specifically at bikers and covers the main points when dealing with
either a biker or pillion passenger involved in a biking accident.
And since bikers are sometimes the first on the scene of an
accident, it will give them an idea of how to treat other
casualties. St. John Ambulance is the country's leading first aid
training provider and this specially designed course should help
reduce the deaths and serious injuries on the roads today, incurred
by bikers."
Robert Balls says that Bikesure is honoured to have the opportunity
to be involved in the initiative. “This course will
undoubtedly save lives,” he adds.
The course takes 4 hours and is being run at venues across the
country. The cost differs slightly depending on your local training
centre, but will be around £40 per person, payable direct to St.
John Ambulance. Discounts are available for groups and trainers will
be happy to go to a group's own venue or area to run a course.
To find out about your nearest course, call your local St. John
Ambulance centre on 08700 10 49 50.
Bikesure has a huge range of specialist policies for the motorcycle
enthusiast, including schemes for trikes and quads. For details
freephone the Bikesure quote line on 0800 089 2000, email the
company at
bikesure@adrianflux.co.uk or
visit
www.bikesure.co.uk. |
MEPs
want diabetes taken more seriously
THE European Parliament wants diabetes, which affects more
than 25 million people in the EU, to become a priority in the EU's
new health strategy. MEPs made the demand in a 'written
declaration' (the equivalent of a Westminster 'Early Day
Motion') which received the rare support of more than half the
Parliament this week. The declaration now becomes a formal
resolution of the House and the Parliament's staff will forward the
wishes of Parliamentarians to the Council of Ministers and the
European Commission.
Sir Robert Atkins MEP, Conservative Deputy Leader in the European
Parliament, supported the declaration which also encourages EU
member states to establish national diabetes plans and develop a
strategy to encourage consumption and production of healthy food.
Diabetes can lead to other costly and painful ailments such as
kidney failure, amputations and blindness and the number of people
affected by diabetes is set to rise by 16% by 2025.
Sir Robert, whose daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the
age of 3, said:- "This resolution will mean diabetes is placed
high up in Europe's health agenda. We need immediate and concrete
steps to address the growing diabetes epidemic which can lead to
serious and costly health implications such as heart disease, stroke
and blindness. Improved prevention, diagnosis and control of
diabetes is key to limiting the alarming increase of the condition
and improving the lives of those who have already been diagnosed.
The Austrian Presidency of the EU has given diabetes a great deal of
attention since January but with the support of MEPs today, I hope
this resolution will make all European Ministers and European
Commissioners understand the seriousness of the epidemic."
More
incentives needed on pensions
RESPONDING to the release of the Pensions Commission report
this week, the Institute of Directors (IoD) urged the Government to
introduce dramatic simplification of pension savings and far greater
incentives for working longer.
IoD Director General Miles Templeman, said:- "We need to sweep
away the complexity of the current system whilst at the same time
increasing the attractiveness of working longer. Greater simplicity
will be obtained from sweeping away means testing, contracting out
and the state second pension. The incentive to work longer will be
greatly increased by the IoD's innovative proposal to increase the
size of the tax-free lump sum."
The IoD proposes boosting the incentive for longer working lives by
increasing the size of the tax-free lump sum that can be withdrawn
from a pension fund on retirement. The proposal is that the tax-free
lump sum (25% at present) be increased by 5% per annum for each year
worked beyond the state pension age up to a maximum of five years
(i.e. a maximum tax-free lump sum of 50%).
Laura Wolfe, regional director of the IoD in the North West added:-
"The larger lump sum provides people with an incentive to work
longer and the flexibility of access to a larger lump sum of money
when they do retire. They can go on working, pay taxes and watch
their pension fund grow in value and then have access to more money
to pursue their retirement dreams."
 |
