Please re-read my post. I use the word "counselling" as in "to seek advice from a knowledgeable or trained person" rather than, as you all appear to have assumed "a counsellor". It is very clear and unambiguous in both my posts that it is counselling (advice) about minor personal health issues, ie "should I see a doctor about this" type of thing rather than someone to talk to. Please do not berate me when you have clearly misunderstood.

Hilary I am sorry if I berated you that was not my intention but again I feel the role of a first aider is very clearly defined I despair of first aiders who think they are trained to give medical advice of such a nature - what if they said "don't see a doctor" its not what first aid is about treatment for an injury etc that occurs not some medical condition.

I generally dislike copy & paste responses but in this instance I think it may be useful to refer to the HSE ACOP: “first-aid” means – (a) in cases where a person will need help from a medical practitioner or nurse, treatment for the purpose of preserving life and minimising the consequences of injury and illness until such help is obtained, and (b) treatment of minor injuries which would otherwise receive no treatment or which do not need treatment by a medical practitioner or nurse; This clear definition forms the basis for most first aid training courses, and most course providers make clear that first aid is for the above purposes. The ACOP makes no mention of choosing or providing first aiders based on gender. First aiders providing additional medical advice in an employment situation are acting for the employers, possibly without the employers realising that there could be adverse consequences.

As it's Friday After some nerves injected by John's paranoid words... I arrived to 22 girl guides. (22 directors bring it on, I will argue my case with conviction, yet 22 girls aged 11 - 14 and I was scared :) Fear was confirmed 20 minutes in when I was asked When doing CPR on a lady what do you with their boobs! Thanks goodness it's Friday. I think I understand how the argument about counselling came about, as an advanced first aider I too am often asked odd questions. I always suggest the red pill, and then refer them to someone who really knows what they are doing :)

Ask the prime minister as I am sure he would be able to sort all this out with a sensible solution.

This post has cheered me up no end. I'm packing in and going home a happy man.

First aiders are taught to recognise certain illnesses - this is a requirement of the regulations. Thus the person who is ill may need to give some information to the first aider that they think is embarrassing if the first aider is of a different gender. In addition the first aider might ask a question that is thought by the person to be embarrassing. Remember this is not the same as asking a doctor or nurse who are mainly unknown to us on a daily basis whereas the first aider is someone many people will come into contact with every workday. Many people expect first aiders to have a lot more knowledge than they have, and many do have a great knowledge, and this could lead to them thinking that they should be able to ask any medical questions they need answering. Believe me that when I was a Red Cross volunteer people expected me to know all manner of things and when I was a senior officer the expectation was even greater. As for being treated by someone of a different gender then there is always the risk of being seen to do something that is misinterpreted by the injured person and therefore having someone of the same gender as the casualty present - even if just a passerby - was always considered good practice. People need to understand what first aiders are allowed to do, including limited illness recognition, but also first aiders should be aware of their limitations and know when to say - "go and see your GP".

I wish I stopped reading there! Thread ended...