Training Programmes

BLS is the first level of care for a person in cardiac arrest, and at Life Support Hub you learn it together with the safe use of a defibrillator (AED).

Cardiac arrest happens without warning, when the heart suddenly stops beating properly. Its electrical mechanism stops working, and so no blood reaches the brain and the other vital organs. At that moment, knowledge and composure can save a life.

What is the difference between cardiac arrest and a heart attack?

Although they are often confused, they are two different things. A heart attack is a "plumbing" problem: an artery supplying the heart becomes blocked, the heart keeps beating, but part of it is not properly supplied with blood. Cardiac arrest is an "electrical" problem: the heart stops completely, because its electrical impulse is interrupted. A severe heart attack can, however, cause cardiac arrest.

How do I know someone has suffered a cardiac arrest?

The signs are immediate: the person collapses, is not breathing, has no pulse and does not respond if you speak to them or shake them.

What is the first thing I should do?

Call the emergency services (112) immediately. Then, if you are trained, start Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Time is your greatest enemy.

CPR is not knowledge only for health professionals, it is for each of us. It may prove to be the most valuable lesson of your life, the one that gives a fellow human a second chance.

What will you do on the course?

The training is mainly hands-on. You will practise chest compressions and rescue breaths on a manikin, learn to recognise cardiac arrest within seconds, and use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in a realistic scenario. CPR is not learned by reading — it is learned with your hands.

Where are the courses held and what certification do you get?

Life Support Hub's first-aid courses are held mainly in Athens: our base is in Alimos, and classes are also held at partner organisations' premises across Attica. We also travel all over Greece, depending on the schedule and on partnerships, and for companies the training takes place on their own premises. On successful completion you receive Basic Life Support (BLS/AED) certification from the European Resuscitation Council (ERC), which is internationally recognised.

No prior knowledge is required to attend this training. Anyone can take part.

At Life Support Hub, PBLS trains anyone who works with or comes into contact with children and may find themselves facing a child in or close to cardiac arrest.

Focusing on rescue techniques for children, the programme prepares you to handle paediatric emergencies with confidence and the right care. It is especially important for professionals in pre-school and school education, public and private, who look after the most precious members of our society.

Why is paediatric CPR important?

Unlike adults, where cardiac arrest is often of cardiac origin, in children it is mainly due to respiratory causes, such as obstruction of the airway by a foreign body (choking). That is why immediate recognition of the problem, with an initial 5 rescue breaths and then alternating chest compressions and breaths, is vital.

Immediate CPR by bystanders can increase a child's chances of survival by 2 to 3 times. Conversely, for every minute that passes without resuscitation, the chances drop dramatically.

What should I do if a child is choking?

The management of choking is common to adults and children, but differs in technique, mainly in the force applied. In partial (mild) obstruction there is still a cough reflex: we encourage the person to cough and stay next to them until the foreign body is expelled. In complete obstruction the person communicates with gestures but cannot cough. Calmly, we let them know we are there to help and apply alternately 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts (in an infant, chest thrusts with 2 fingers). If the person collapses, CPR begins immediately and at the same time we call 112.

Can a non-specialist perform CPR on a child?

Yes. According to the ERC, even someone trained only in basic adult CPR can safely perform it on a child. Any intervention is better than inaction. Specialised paediatric training, such as PBLS, provides the best techniques and increases effectiveness.

What will you do on the course?

The training is mainly hands-on. It opens with a little theory, just enough to understand the framework you will be working in, and from there on you practise every skill in the list that follows with your own hands.

By the end of PBLS you will be able to:

• recognise and assess an unconscious child or infant
• perform rescue breaths and chest compressions
• safely use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) on children
• place a child or infant in the recovery position
• manage a child or infant who is choking

Where are the courses held and what certification do you get?

Life Support Hub's first-aid courses are held mainly in Athens: our base is in Alimos, and classes are also held at partner organisations' premises across Attica. We also travel all over Greece, depending on the schedule and on partnerships, and for companies the training takes place on their own premises. On successful completion you receive Paediatric Basic Life Support (PBLS) certification from the European Resuscitation Council (ERC), which is internationally recognised.

The first minutes are decisive. ILS trains health professionals to manage the critically ill patient and cardiac arrest until the resuscitation team takes over.

This is exactly the knowledge needed by the healthcare staff who make up the rapid-response (blue) teams of hospitals and health facilities. When a patient deteriorates, the first to reach them is rarely the full resuscitation team. It is the department's own staff, who must know what to do immediately and correctly.

What will you do on the course?

It is a one-day, multidisciplinary programme, built around the ABCDE approach to the deteriorating patient. Compared with BLS, it goes further into diagnostic skills: airway management, recognition of heart rhythm on the ECG and rapid, safe defibrillation, with an AED or a manual defibrillator. It follows the logic of Advanced Life Support, focusing however on the core knowledge and skills that every health professional needs in practice.

In this way, ILS acts as the frontline resuscitation programme for healthcare staff: the bridge between basic life support and specialist care.

As with BLS, the training is mainly hands-on: a little theory at the start, just enough to understand the framework you will be working in, and then practice, with your own hands, of exactly these skills.

Where are the courses held and what certification do you get?

Life Support Hub's first-aid courses are held mainly in Athens: our base is in Alimos, and classes are also held at partner organisations' premises across Attica. We also travel all over Greece, depending on the schedule and on partnerships, and for companies the training takes place on their own premises. On successful completion you receive Immediate Life Support (ILS) certification from the European Resuscitation Council (ERC), which is internationally recognised.

The Basic Instructor Course (BIC) is the step for anyone who wants to move from "I know how to save lives" to "I teach others to save lives". BIC prepares selected candidates to become certified ERC instructors in the BLS and PBLS programmes.

What will you do on the course?

The BIC requires a current ERC BLS or PBLS certification.

The programme does not focus on resuscitation techniques — those are assumed to be already known — but on how you teach. In the theory part you learn the methods of adult education: how to organise practical exercises and how to give feedback that genuinely helps the people you train. In the practical part you swap roles: you teach one CPR topic to the course's instructors, and they give you feedback on your teaching.

It is aimed both at health professionals and at members of the public who stood out during their Provider course and were nominated as future instructors (Instructor Potential).

Where are the courses held and what certification do you get?

Life Support Hub's courses are held mainly in Athens: our base is in Alimos, and classes are also held at partner organisations' premises across Attica. We also travel all over Greece, depending on the schedule and on partnerships. On completing the BIC you become a European Resuscitation Council (ERC) Instructor Candidate: you teach under supervision on at least two courses and, if your performance is judged sufficient, you are upgraded to full ERC Instructor.

In nature, help is not always close by. When the nearest hospital is an hour or more away, your knowledge makes the difference. Wilderness First Aid prepares you to recognise and treat injuries and sudden illness far from organised medical care.

It is aimed at climbers, hikers, mountain guides, outdoor instructors and anyone who moves or works in remote areas. The programme is based on the manual Wilderness First Aid: Emergency Care in Remote Locations and combines theory with hands-on practice in realistic scenarios.

What will you do on the course?

Topics include: management of wounds and bleeding, shock, spinal and limb injuries, splinting, and treatment in conditions where evacuation is delayed.

The programme's online preparation lives on our training platform, where you will also find the access instructions.

Where are the courses held and what certification do you get?

Life Support Hub's first-aid courses are held mainly in Athens: our base is in Alimos, and classes are also held at partner organisations' premises across Attica. We also travel all over Greece, depending on the schedule and on partnerships, and for companies the training takes place on their own premises. On successful completion you receive Wilderness First Aid certification from the Emergency Care & Safety Institute (ECSI), which is internationally recognised.

Pets are members of the family, and in an emergency your first actions can save their life. Pet First Aid teaches you to provide immediate, temporary care to dogs and cats until you reach the vet.

It is aimed at pet owners, pet sitters, breeders, groomers and anyone who cares for animals. No prior knowledge is required.

What will you do on the course?

Topics include: safely approaching and restraining an injured animal, choking, bleeding control and bite wounds, CPR on a dog and cat, burns, poisoning, and preparation for emergencies.

As in our CPR courses for people (BLS, PBLS), the theory is brief and comes at the start; the rest of the time you practise with your own hands on a dog manikin. And if you have a cat, the technique is exactly the same — the only thing that changes is the size.

Where are the courses held and what certification do you get?

Life Support Hub's first-aid courses are held mainly in Athens: our base is in Alimos, and classes are also held at partner organisations' premises across Attica. We also travel all over Greece, depending on the schedule and on partnerships, and for companies the training takes place on their own premises. On successful completion you receive Pet First Aid certification from the Emergency Care & Safety Institute (ECSI), which is internationally recognised.

When someone close to you becomes bedbound, their care passes to you — often overnight, and with no one to show you how. Caring for a Bedbound Patient is a seminar for caregivers that teaches you the daily care of a person confined to bed: hygiene, feeding, moving them and preventing pressure sores.

The caregiver of a bedbound patient is whoever takes on the care of a person who, permanently or temporarily, cannot get out of bed: their daily hygiene, feeding, mobilisation and the prevention of complications such as pressure sores. Just as important is psychological support — for the patient, and for the caregiver too, because caring for a patient can be demanding and emotionally charged.

What will you do on the course?

You practise on a real hospital bed and a wheelchair — the equipment a family rents or buys for a relative at home — and learn the skills you need as the caregiver of a bedbound patient:

• Taking vital signs: pulse, blood pressure, oxygen saturation and temperature — the ones the doctor asks you to record, and that are measured with an instrument.
• Personal hygiene: bed bathing, hair washing, changing clothes and bed linen, cleansing with wet wipes and changing incontinence pads.
• Preventing pressure sores: repositioning, using special mattresses and cushions, careful skin care.
• Feeding: giving food and fluids safely, so the patient does not choke and food does not go into the lungs (aspiration) — and how to respond to choking in someone who cannot get up, which differs from choking in a person standing.
• Medication: reading the doctor's instructions for tablets — for how many days, how many times a day and at what dose — and keeping a record of doses taken. Injections are not taught.
• Oral hygiene: cleaning teeth and gums.
• Nail care: trimming and cleaning nails, in theory only, and when you should not do it yourself, as with the diabetic foot.
• Psychological support: encouragement, listening and a positive attitude.
• Moving the patient: techniques for transfers from bed to wheelchair and back.
• Self-care: taking breaks, seeking support, looking after your own mental and physical health.

Where is the course held and what certificate do you get?

Life Support Hub's first-aid courses are held mainly in Athens: our base is in Alimos, and classes are also held at partner organisations' premises across Attica. We also travel all over Greece, depending on the schedule and on partnerships, and for companies the training takes place on their own premises.

On completion you receive a certificate of attendance of a clinical workshop from Life Support Hub — those are the exact words the document carries. “Clinical workshop” means the emphasis is on performing each technique correctly, not on the theory behind it.