First Response Emergency Care (FREC)

The aim of the FREC Level 3 is to benefit learners by enabling them to attain the knowledge and practical competencies needed to deal with a range of prehospital emergency situations.

Its purpose is to prepare learners to be able to demonstrate the practical administration of safe, prompt, effective prehospital care in situations which can arise when providing emergency treatment and/or management.

This qualification is intended for people who have a specific responsibility at work, or in voluntary and community activities, to provide prehospital care to patients requiring emergency care/treatment.

The FREC Level 3 qualification comprises 3 mandatory units with a Total Qualification Time of 150 hours.

Learners must complete all assessments/skills tests in the units successfully within the registration period to achieve the qualification. The minimum time to complete this qualification is 3 weeks and the maximum is 20 weeks.

Each credit is equivalent to 10 hours learning time. Learning time consists of guided learning hours (GLH) and self-directed study. GLH are a measure of the contact time a typical Learner will require in direct guidance, from a trainer, to complete their programme of learning successfully

For this qualification, this should be a minimum of 35 hours over 5 days (excluding breaks). Sessions should be a minimum of 2 hours. Learners should be encouraged to do a minimum of 118 hours of self-directed study, which should include additional reading and applied practice.

We can offer assistance for learners who  may not have the opportunity  to put skills into practice as a first responder during their qualification, including :-

• Reflective writing after reading books, journals on an area of interest linked to prehospital care
• Setting up protocols for the use of AED’s in the work place
• Formation of a disaster plan for their organisation, if involved in a natural disaster
• Setting up a training programme for Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction for the local population.

After 3 years the qualification can be revalidated by attending a 3 day requalification course.

The course syllabus includes the following :-

• Practical assessments/skills tests – Observed by the trainer throughout the course, with the results of each learning outcome recorded on the practical assessment paperwork. There are 14 practical assessments/skills tests for this qualification
  • • Adult CPR and AED
    • Airway management
    • Assessment and treatment of trauma (bleeding)
    • Burn severity
    • Child cardiopulmonary resuscitation
    • Choking patient
    • Circulatory system
    • Infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation
    • Management of fractures
    • Medical emergencies
    • Patient report form
    • Respiratory system
    • Secondary survey
    • Unconscious patient
• Formative assessments – A range of informal assessment procedures employed by the trainer/assessor during the learning process to measure each learner’s knowledge, skills and understanding related to the assessment criteria
• Theory assessment/multiple choice question papers – there is 1 paper per unit for each learner. Learners should answer all the questions under ‘examination’ conditions :-
  • • Maximum time for Unit 1 is 30 minutes, for Unit 2 it is 45 minutes and for Unit 3 it is 45 minutes
    • For an overall ‘Pass’, the minimum mark for Unit 1 is 14 out of 20, for Unit 21 out of 30, and for Unit 3 21 out of 30
    • Even when a learner achieves this minimum, trainers will make a professional judgement as to whether that learner has achieved all the assessment criteria.