Former Paratrooper Harrison Young is the Founder of Medical Training Solutions, based in Norfolk, which offers award-winning first aid training and more, in the UK and beyond. Having returned from a recent training trip to Kenya, he shares his story
It’s has been a ‘crazy few years’ for former Paratrooper Harrison Young since he set up Medical Training Solutions (MTS), an award-winning medical training company based in Snetterton, Norfolk. MTS has gone from being ‘a very small operation, with me driving around in a VW polo that was falling to pieces with some training equipment I borrowed from a friend,’ says Harrison, ‘to today where we supply a huge number of blue-chip clients both nationally and internationally and have won multiple industry awards for our work.’
From the age of 16 to 21, Harrison was in Parachute Regiment of the British Army. ‘During that time discovered a real passion for emergency medicine. I decided to leave the military and become a paramedic and so trained with the east of England ambulance service which included some time at UEA.
‘I was on shift one day and was called to a supermarket for someone who had collapsed and when I arrived it was undeniably clear that the patient was in cardiac arrest and required resuscitation.
‘No one from the supermarket staff had recognised this and therefore despite our best efforts the patient died; he was only 55 years old and left behind a family and children.
‘I came away and reflected on the incident and wondered why no one did anything to help him. I thought about the training they received and wondered if it was perhaps a competency or confidence issue or perhaps both.
‘I then discovered that the first aid training market was extremely unregulated with lots of instructors actually lacking the essential knowledge and experience to deliver this life-saving training.’
Harrison went on to found MTS, ‘to bring the expertise of Paramedics and other healthcare professionals to the forefront of this problem to ensure that everyone has the correct training by the right people, to be able to save a life when needed.’
The year 2020 saw the grand unveiling of a brand-new training facility located in Snetterton – and the following year MTS was announced winners of the Prestige Business Awards 20/21 for top medical training provider in London and the South East – for outstanding work during COVID-19.
The MTS team have just returned from delivering life-saving medical training to Mercy Corps in Africa, a humanitarian charity dedicated to relieving suffering, poverty and oppression across the world.
The course was delivered over an intensive 5-day period to their staff in Kenya, and marked an important collaborative effort to enhance emergency response capabilities and promote healthcare awareness in the region.
Harrison says: ‘By equipping their staff members with emergency medical skills, we believe that Mercy Corps will be better prepared to handle medical emergencies and provide immediate assistance to those in need.’
The newly qualified staff will now be ready to provide emergency medical care support to humanitarian aid missions across Africa and the Middle East.
Visit Medical Training Solutions (mtscourses.co.uk) For more information about Mercy Corps, please visit www.mercycorps.org.
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