Solent Medical Skills

General information

The QA Level 3 Certificate in First Response Emergency Care (QCF) FREC® is aimed at people who want to work as a pre-hospital emergency care provider. When combined with the Level 4 FREC®, these learners would then be expected to assess patients using a variety of methods including physiological measures and will be able to act on their findings. The combined qualifications are very suitable for high threat environments like close protection, anti-piracy etc and are ideal for clinical progression from FPOS-I.

Most candidates will have to successfully complete the Level 3 before being allowed onto the Level 4 course, however if you have NHS training at ECA level or above, you can skip straight onto the Level 4. For those that have not had NHS training, we recommend getting the Level 3 under your belts on the next course to give time for it to all sink in properly before attempting the Level 4.
A level 5 course – Diploma in First Response Emergency and Urgent Care will be available in the first half of next year, but there are no details about content or an exact release date just yet.
All of these qualifications are regulated by the UK’s qualifications regulator, OFQUAL. No other UK courses suitable for high threat environments (anti-piracy, close protection, NGOs, press etc) are regulated by OFQUAL. This helpfully brings things into line with the regulated security courses overseen by the Security Industries Authority (SIA) in the UK.
FREC® UPDATE 26/10/15 We are delighted to announce that these fantastic qualifications have been clinically endorsed by the Faculty of Pre Hospital Care – The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. FREC® 3 fulfils the competencies set out in Prehospital Emergency Medicine (PHEM) Skills Framework at descriptor Level D. This means that we can offer Prehospital Care qualifications that are both regulated and clinically endorsed, giving both employers and learners total assurance! In addition, the QA Level 4 Certificate in First Response Emergency Care (QCF) sits on the PHEM framework at descriptor Level E. These qualifications are set to be extremely popular for those looking to progress in a career in the security industry, ambulance services and the event medical industry.
The Level 3 FREC ® full-course (5 day) costs £495
The Level 3 FREC ® conversion from FPOS-I or other verified APL base (3 day) costs £375
The Level 4 FREC ® costs £495
Extended/remote skills module – suturing/stapling/chest drains (1 day) costs £200
Our instructors are qualified teachers and are ex-military. They are also NHS trained and are very experienced up to IHCD Technician or Registered Paramedic level. Their experience gained from many thousands of hours on frontline ambulances and rapid response cars will be available during these courses. Wherever possible, we also use a UK NHS hospital trauma consultant/trainer to teach some of the advanced techniques on our extended skills days, ensuring learners get the very best training available.
The more advanced QA Level 4 FREC ® (in combination with our extra remote skills module) covers :
M – Chemical haemostats, tourniquets, TXA
A – Supra-glottic airways and intubation, cricothyroidotomy, needle-chest decompression
R – O2 therapy with a BVM, SpO2 pulse oximetry, CO capnography
C – Intravenous and intraosseous access, skin suturing and stapling, blood pressure anaylasis
H – Neurological assessment, spinal and pelvic immobilisation, traction splints and limb re-alignment
Note: Some of the less advanced skills shown above are covered in the Level 3 FREC ®. This level covers many other skills including 3-lead ECG interpretation and 12-lead ECG placement (12 lead interpretation is covered on the Level 4 course), blood glucose monitoring, Entonox administration and appropriate advanced patient assessment.
The Levels 3 and 4 are two 5-day courses, but the Level 4 must be taken separately (not back to back) due to the amount of pre-course learning and post-course Clinical Development Portfolio (CDP) work students must complete before joining each level.
The Level 3 meets all the competencies for a non-health care professional pre-hospital provider to care for patients as a secondary role. It has 35-hours of contact learning time. The Level 4 Award meets all the competencies for non-health care professional pre-hospital providers to care for patients as a primary role, i.e. semi-autonomous practitioners. It also has an additional 35 hours of contact learning time. 150 hours of learning will be required for each level (300 hours total), made up of pre-course reading, preparing your CDP and the contact learning time. Once you have qualified, you will be expected to show evidence of continuing your clinical development via the CDP. Solent Medical Skills will help you with this, but students are also able to show development by writing reflective reports about clinical experience at work (as a doorman, event medic, close protection operative, etc), the choice is yours!
Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) will be considered on a case-by-case basis. For example, holders of the FPOS Intermediate qualification will be allowed to do just two days plus assessment for the Level 3 Certificate providing that they can show they have continued to develop as clinicians. After successful completion, they can then attend the Level 4 Certificate course. We do however, strongly recommend that in order to get the very best from the course, learners sit all 5 days of the Level 3 FREC ® course-even if they can successfully APL and are up to speed with the content.
Both qualifications are in line with the pre-hospital provider competencies set by the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care (FPHC) at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. During these very practical courses, learners will get to practise their new skills using up to date equipment and training aids. Underpinning theory will also be taught, so that students will understand why they are using their particular skills. Pre-course reading as recommended by Qualsafe are up to date JRCALC (large version has a lot of useful illness/trauma management information as well as the usual drug guidelines), Ross and Wilson (for anatomy and physiology) and Generic Core Material – Prehospital Emergency Care Course book by Faculty of Prehospital Care, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
Once you have the FREC® 3 certificate, it is suitable for showing any employer to cover you for your First Aid at Work certification, as both FREC® 3 and First Aid at Work are nationally recognised level 3 qualifications.