FIRST aid training will be top of the agenda at a new centre in York.

The First Aid Training Centre is set to open next month in the Next Generation Health Club, off Hull Road, York.

The centre was the brainchild of Clare Adrian, who set up EFAF, (Essential First Aid Services) to meet the first aid needs of businesses last August after years working as a first aid training manager. "I was continuously being asked to train and manage other company's first aid needs, so the idea to set up on my own seemed the way forward. However, not all companies can spare enough staff all at once to hold an in-house training course, so I decided to open a training centre, so companies could send a few staff at a time," she said.

"There is no dedicated first aid centre in the whole of York so I am confident this will be a brilliant business opportunity."

She said they had already had a lot of interest in the courses.

The centre will school its students in first aid at work with both four-day courses and two-day refreshers.

There will also be courses teaching basic lifesaving skills and how to use an automated external defibrillation machine, which is used to start hearts.

All students will receive a St John Ambulance certificate on completion of the courses.

The firm will also deliver in-house training to firms in the area and set up first aid scenarios within the workplace to test the knowledge of staff.

The first course at the centre will be First Aid at Work, starting on July 19, and at first the centre will run about three courses a month.

For more information about the centre and its courses phone 01430 860 663.

Updated: 11:21 Monday, June 21, 2004