If you manage a care home or GP surgery in Crewe, Basic Life Support training is one of those things that needs to happen every single year. Not every two years. Not every three years. Every year. Because the skills fade faster than people think, and the day someone collapses on your premises is not the day to discover that your team's BLS technique is rusty.
Crewe has a significant number of care homes, nursing homes, and GP surgeries, and all of them share the same requirement. Every member of staff who could potentially be the first to find an unresponsive patient or resident needs current BLS certification. That is not just the nurses and clinicians. It is the healthcare assistants, the reception team, the kitchen staff, the cleaners. Anyone who works in the building.
We are PCT Services, and we deliver Resuscitation Council UK aligned BLS training from our training centre at First Floor, 2 Queen Street in Northwich, about a 25 minute drive from Crewe. We also deliver on site at care homes and GP surgeries across the area, which means your team can train without leaving the building.
Why annual BLS refreshers matter
The Resuscitation Council UK recommends that BLS skills are refreshed annually. This is not an arbitrary rule. Research consistently shows that CPR skills deteriorate within months of training, and without regular practice, the quality of chest compressions and rescue breaths drops significantly. In a real cardiac arrest, the quality of CPR in those first few minutes before the ambulance arrives directly affects whether the patient survives.
For care homes, this is particularly important. Your residents are often elderly, have complex medical conditions, and are at higher risk of cardiac arrest. The staff member who finds a resident unresponsive at three in the morning needs to be able to start CPR immediately and effectively. They cannot afford to hesitate or try to remember what they learnt two years ago.
For GP surgeries, a patient could collapse in the waiting room, during a consultation, or in the corridor. The reception team might be the first on the scene. If they have not practised BLS recently, those critical first minutes are lost.
What our BLS course covers
Our BLS course is a two hour CPD certified course aligned with CSTF Level 2 standards. It covers adult CPR including chest compressions and rescue breaths, the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), and the recovery position for an unconscious but breathing patient.
The course is entirely practical. Your staff will practise CPR on manikins, learn how to use an AED confidently, and work through the decision making process of finding someone who is unresponsive. By the end of two hours, they will have refreshed their skills and rebuilt their confidence.
Groups can be up to 14 people, which means you can train a full care home shift or an entire GP surgery team in a single session.
Basic Life Support Training (BLS)
This Basic Life Support course provides essential knowledge and practical skills to competently recognise a cardiac arrest and commence basic life support in adults, children and infants. It also covers safe application of an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator), how to use a pocket mask, administration of oxygen, and the initial assessment and management of anaphylaxis.
Northwich Training Centre, Northwich
Fully booked · 3 dates available
CQC inspections and BLS compliance
If you manage a care home or GP surgery in Crewe, you know that CQC inspectors look closely at staff training records. BLS is one of the areas they check, and if your records show that staff training has lapsed or that not all staff have current certification, it raises questions about the safety of your service.
Having a clear, documented BLS training schedule that shows all staff are trained annually demonstrates good governance and a commitment to patient safety. It is one of those things that is easy to get right if you plan ahead, and very awkward to explain if you have let it slip.
We can help you set up a rolling training schedule so that BLS refreshers are built into your annual calendar. No more last minute scrambles to find a course date before an inspection.
On site training for Crewe care homes and GP surgeries
The most popular option for care homes and GP surgeries in Crewe is on site BLS training. We come to your premises, bring all the equipment including manikins and AED trainers, and deliver the two hour course in your staff room, dining room, or wherever works best.
This has several advantages. Your staff do not need to travel. You do not need to arrange cover for people being off site. And the training happens in the environment where your staff would actually need to use these skills, which makes it feel more real and relevant.
For care homes with multiple shifts, we can run the same session more than once on the same day or across different days so that all your staff are covered without disrupting care.
For GP surgeries, we can schedule the training during a lunchtime closure or at the end of the day, whichever causes the least disruption to your patient appointments.
Training at our Northwich centre
If on site delivery does not suit you, your staff can also attend one of our scheduled BLS courses at our training centre at First Floor, 2 Queen Street in Northwich. Crewe is about a 25 minute drive away, and we run courses regularly throughout the year.
This is a good option if you want to send one or two members of staff at a time, or if you prefer the team to train in a focused environment away from the workplace.
Check the live dates on our Basic Life Support page and book directly.
Beyond BLS: eILS for clinical staff
For the clinical staff in your care home or GP surgery, you might also want to consider our Immediate Life Support (eILS) course. This goes beyond BLS and covers the ABCDE approach to patient assessment, advanced airway management, and recognition of cardiac arrest rhythms. It is designed for healthcare professionals who may need to manage a deteriorating patient, not just respond to a cardiac arrest.
eILS costs £180 per person, lasts five hours (with online pre-learning), and the certificate is valid for one year. Groups are kept small at a maximum of six. Check the Immediate Life Support page for dates.
A good approach is BLS for all staff annually, and eILS for your registered nurses and senior clinicians. That way, everyone can respond to a cardiac arrest, and your clinical team has the advanced skills to manage the situation.
Immediate Life Support Training (eILS)
The Immediate Life Support course is a specialised course designed to equip healthcare professionals with a variety of skills, from managing a deteriorating adult, identifying causes of deterioration and treating cardiorespiratory arrest in adults, to developing team leadership skills and understanding what it takes to be an effective team member in an emergency.
Northwich Training Centre, Northwich
Fully booked
Book your training
If you manage a care home or GP surgery in Crewe and you need to get your BLS training sorted, give us a call on 07958 915146 and we can arrange on site delivery at a time that works for your team. Or check the upcoming dates on our Basic Life Support page and book your places directly.
Do not wait until your next CQC inspection to think about it. Get it in the diary now.
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