Orbital Safety Training

05/09/2026

04/09/2026

The plan exists. Nobody’s read it. 😬

Most workplaces have them.

Emergency procedures.
Fire plans.
First aid arrangements.
Risk assessments.

All carefully written, put into a folder… and then quietly left there gathering dust.

But when somebody collapses, there's a fire, a serious injury happens or something simply goes very wrong, that's not the time to start looking for the folder.

Ask yourself a simple question:

👉 If something happened at work tomorrow, would your team actually know what to do?

Not where the policy is.

Not who should know.

Actually know what to do.

That's why I'm such a believer in practical training. We can have all the paperwork in the world, but people need the confidence to turn that plan into action when it matters.

Better to be safe 💚
www.orbitalsafetytraining.com

29/08/2026

🚑 WHEN THE FIRST AID TRAINER BECOMES THE CASUALTY… 🤦‍♀️🤣

There I was, innocently preparing lunch…

Me.
A first aid trainer.
Someone who spends her working life teaching other people what to do when things go wrong.

Enter: the cheese grater. 🧀

Cheese grater: 1
Kirsty: 0

Turns out there is one small flaw in my professional skill set…

I DON’T LIKE MY OWN BLOOD. 🫣🤣

So, having taken a rather enthusiastic chunk out of my thumb, all that first aid knowledge was suddenly far less useful when I was the casualty.

Thankfully, my husband was on hand, knew exactly what to do and calmly took over.

So congratulations Mick — you passed your post-course practical assessment. 🤣👏

Meanwhile, the qualified first aid trainer could be found sitting on the kitchen floor looking slightly pathetic while her lunch remained abandoned on the worktop. 😂

Eventually order was restored, the thumb was suitably dressed — in a rather fetching pink 💅 — and lunch preparation resumed.

Today’s important training messages:

👉 Keep your first aid kit stocked — so when you grate a chunk out of your thumb, you don’t discover the only properly stocked first aid kit in the house is THE DOG’S. 🐕🤣

👉 Know what to do when someone is bleeding — because accidents really do happen anywhere.

👉 Understand why safety equipment should be used, even when you don’t particularly WANT to use it. 👀 Apparently, “I’ve done this loads of times and I’ll be fine” isn’t actually a recognised control measure. 🤦‍♀️😂

👉 And perhaps most importantly…

Never underestimate an angry cheese grater. 🧀🤣

Because first aid training isn’t about remembering something long enough to pass an assessment.

It’s about knowing what to do on a completely ordinary Saturday when you suddenly hear…

“MICK! HELP! I’VE CHEESE-GRATED MY THUMB… AGAIN!” 🤣🤣🤣

…while the first aid trainer sits on the kitchen floor and her husband raids the dog’s first aid kit.

You really couldn’t make this stuff up. 😂

28/08/2026

Have you heard of Martyn’s Law?

You may have seen the name in the news — but do you know what it actually means, who it affects, or what it could mean if you run a venue or organise an event?

Martyn’s Law came about following the devastating Manchester Arena attack in 2017 and the determined campaigning of Martyn Hett’s mum, Figen Murray.

The new law is about something very simple: being prepared.

In my latest blog, I’ve taken a proper look at:

🔹 Why Martyn’s Law came about
🔹 Who it applies to
🔹 The important 200 and 800 person thresholds
🔹 What it means for venues and event organisers
🔹 Evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication
🔹 And what organisations can start thinking about now

There’s quite a lot of confusion around Martyn’s Law — particularly when it comes to smaller venues and community events — so I’ve tried to cut through the legal language and explain it in plain English.

Because whether the law applies to your event or not, there’s one question worth asking:

If something serious happened, would the people running it know what to do?

👉 Read the full blog here:
https://www.orbitalsafetytraining.com/post/martyn-s-law-what-it-means-who-it-affects-and-why-we-all-need-to-understand-it

Better to be safe.

27/08/2026

What does a First Aid Trainer do on her week-long annual leave? 🤔

Relax?
Put her feet up?
Forget about first aid for a whole week?

Apparently not. 🤣

I’ve just spent the last hour giving our village defibrillator phone box a VERY overdue clean. 🧽❤️

There were cobwebs. There were spiders. There were things living in corners that I decided were probably best left unidentified… 🕷️😂

But underneath it all is a piece of equipment that could one day help save somebody’s life — so it deserved a little TLC.

One very clean phone box later, the defib is visible, accessible and ready if our village ever needs it. ❤️

Annual leave, Kirsty style. Apparently. 🤦‍♀️🤣

Now… I am going back on holiday.
Probably. 😜

23/08/2026

21/08/2026

🩸 Your village has a defibrillator… but does it have a bleed kit?

I recently saw that a local village had installed a public-access trauma bleed kit, and it got me thinking…

We’re all becoming used to seeing defibrillators in our communities — but catastrophic bleeding can also become life-threatening within minutes.

So, what exactly is a bleed kit?
Who can use one?
What’s actually inside it?
And could one really save a life while you're waiting for an ambulance?

I've taken a proper look at where public bleed kits came from, why they're appearing in more communities, and what you should actually do if someone is catastrophically bleeding.

👉 Have a read of my latest blog:
https://www.orbitalsafetytraining.com/post/your-village-has-a-defibrillator-but-what-about-a-bleed-kit

And perhaps next time you walk past your village defibrillator, you'll find yourself wondering…

Should there be a bleed kit there too? ❤️

20/08/2026

Today’s office has been relocated… 🤣⛈️🐾

The thunder is rolling around Norfolk, the heavens have well and truly opened, and I have two very unhappy dogs who are absolutely petrified of it.

So, apparently, working from my actual office is no longer an option.

Laptop relocated to the kitchen ✔️
Thorn and Katy within touching distance ✔️
Productivity… questionable 🤣

One of the joys of running your own little business is that sometimes the working day doesn’t quite go to plan.

Today, Orbital HQ is the kitchen table, with two rather large, slightly terrified office assistants. ❤️🐾

And do you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way.