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Level 2 · National Proficiency II · CTVET formatTrainee Manual

First Aid and Community Health Helper Level 2

Look deeper, act faster, stay calm. Spot a stroke or a heart attack in minutes, keep a crash victim still, pull nobody from the sea by swimming out, comfort the frightened, and work hand in hand with your CHPS nurse to keep your community well.

First aid and community health helper A community scene. On the left a first aider kneels beside a person lying on the ground and presses on the centre of the chest with straight arms, while a helper holds a phone showing the emergency number 112. In the middle stands a green first-aid box with a white cross. On the right a community health helper in a teal shirt holds a clipboard beside a Veronica bucket with a tap and a bar of soap, and behind them a bed under a blue mosquito net. 112 SAFE · CALL 112 · CARE · REFER
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Prepared by De-Graft Afful · Version 1.0.0 · October 2026
01

About this module

At Level 1 you learnt to keep a person alive. At Level 2 you learn to notice what others miss: the quiet stroke, the hidden neck injury, the child who stopped playing after a fall, the family that has no net.

Who it is for. People who have completed Level 1 (or a recognised basic first-aid course) and want to act with less supervision: community volunteers, drivers, teachers, workplace first aiders, church and mosque health teams, and persons with disabilities. National Proficiency II follows National Proficiency I in Ghana's TVET framework.

CTVET status. No CTVET first-aid or community health helper programme was found. This module is not a CTVET curriculum. It follows CTVET's format.

The hard gate stays. You still never diagnose, never give injections, drips, herbs or medicines of your own choosing, never suture or cut, and always refer. Level 2 adds one careful step: you may help a person take their own prescribed medicine (an inhaler, an adrenaline auto-injector, or their own heart tablets) when they ask and cannot manage alone, as international first-aid guidelines allow where local regulations allow. Whether Ghana law sets any extra conditions was not verified: follow what your recognised practical course teaches and what the 112 call-taker tells you.

Not a certificate. Get certified and keep your certificate current with a recognised provider: the Ghana Red Cross Society, St John Ambulance Ghana or the National Ambulance Service. IFRC guidelines note that first-aid skills fall away quickly after a course and suggest refresher sessions three to six months later.

Bridge from Level 1: what you already know

  • Scene safety, gloves, handwashing and consent
  • The primary survey (DR ABC), calling 112 with landmarks, the recovery position, fainting
  • CPR and choking for adults, children and babies
  • Severe bleeding, shock, burns, fractures and sprains (PRICE)
  • Seizures, heat illness, poisoning, snakebite and dog bites
  • Handwashing, malaria and diarrhoea messages; danger signs; referral notes; the first-aid box
  • First steps to certification and honest small business ideas

Level 1 did not cover the secondary survey, head and spinal injuries, medical emergencies such as heart attack and stroke, drowning, psychological first aid, several casualties, home visits and health campaigns, or event first aid. Level 2 covers all of these.

How the module works

Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. About 70% is practical. As at Level 1, the guidance is international (IFRC, WHO, St John Ambulance UK, NHS UK) unless a Ghana source is named. In Ghana, call 112.

02

Unit 1 · The secondary survey, head, neck and back injuries, and road crashes

The primary survey finds what will kill in minutes. The secondary survey finds what will kill in hours.

Competency standard

Learning outcome Performance criteria — the trainee…
1.1 Take a history asks the AMPLE questions and records the answers
1.2 Check signs and symptoms looks, listens, feels and compares sides; asks about pain clearly
1.3 Care for a head injury recognises signs of concussion and when to call 112
1.4 Care for a suspected spinal injury keeps the person still and does not use a collar
1.5 Act safely at a road crash makes the scene safe, does not pull people from cars, stops filming, and reports to 112

Range. Partners, manikins and a mock road scene. Evidence. Completed secondary-survey record; observed role-plays; oral questions.

The secondary survey

Do it after the primary survey and after life-threatening problems are treated. Leave the person in the position you found them until you are sure it is safe to move them.

History: AMPLE

Letter Ask about Example question
A Allergies "Are you allergic to any food or medicine?"
M Medicines "Do you take any medicine? Do you have it with you?"
P Previous medical history "Do you have diabetes, epilepsy, asthma or a heart problem?"
L Last meal "When did you last eat or drink?"
E Event "What happened? Did you fall, or did you feel ill first?"

Look also for medical alert bracelets or cards.

Signs: look, listen, feel and smell for swelling, bleeding, odd shapes, colour changes and unusual smells; compare the injured side with the uninjured side; check whether they can move limbs normally.

Symptoms: ask simple questions: Is there pain? Where? When did it start? What is it like? Does moving or breathing make it worse?

Secondary survey, step by step

You need: gloves; a partner with a "story card" (for example "fell from a ladder, pain in left wrist, diabetic"); a record sheet; a pen.

  1. Do the primary survey first (Level 1). Say aloud: "No life-threatening problems found."
  2. Introduce yourself and ask consent.
  3. Ask the AMPLE questions. Write the answers.
  4. Look at the head, then neck, chest, belly, hips, arms and legs, comparing left and right. Ask before touching; explain each step.
  5. Ask the symptom questions about any pain.
  6. Note breathing, response (alert, responds to voice, responds to pain, or unresponsive) and skin colour every 10 minutes.
  7. Hand over your sheet to the ambulance crew or health worker.

Check. Did you stay with the person's permission throughout? Did you compare sides? Did you write the times? Common mistake: moving the person to "make them comfortable" before checking for neck or back injury. Fix: leave them as found unless they are in danger.

A simple handover sheet

Time What you saw What you did Response (A/V/P/U) Breathing
14:05 Man, about 40, fell 2 m from a ladder Primary survey; called 112 A Normal
14:15 Swollen left wrist; says diabetic Supported wrist in a sling A Normal

(The table entries are an example.)

Head injuries

Treat anyone with a forceful blow to the head and any sign of concussion as having a serious head injury. Signs include: becoming unresponsive even for a few seconds; behaving differently (aggressive, slurred speech, poor balance); vomiting more than once. The person must stop the activity and get medical care.

Call 112 at once if, after a blow to the head, the person:

  • was unresponsive, even for a few seconds
  • is confused, aggressive, has slurred speech or a seizure (a child may be unusually quiet and stop playing)
  • has tingling, weakness or poor balance
  • has a severe headache lasting more than two hours
  • has blurred or double vision or cannot bear light
  • has blood or clear fluid coming from the nose, ear or mouth
  • vomits more than once
  • is unresponsive with abnormal breathing

Neck and back (spinal) injuries

Suspect a spinal injury after a road crash, a fall from more than standing height (such as from a palm or coconut tree), a diving accident, or being crushed. Signs include tingling, neck or back pain, an odd shape of the head, neck or spine, and weakness.

  1. Always call 112.
  2. If the person is awake and alert, ask them to keep as still as possible.
  3. If they are not fully alert, you may gently support the head with your hands to stop it moving.
  4. Do not put on a neck collar, and do not strap the head or neck.
  5. Keep checking breathing. If they stop breathing normally, you must open the airway and start CPR: breathing comes before the spine.

Road crashes

Ghana's emergency services warn bystanders not to rush to move victims, to call 112, describe the situation and stay on the line. International guidelines warn about bystanders pulling people out of cars and about filming casualties, which humiliates them and blocks responders.

Road crash role-play (mock scene, no vehicles moving)

You need: cones or branches; reflective vests; a "car" (chairs); two volunteers as casualties with story cards; a phone (do not dial).

  1. Danger. Send a helper well back along the road to slow traffic with a branch or a waving cloth. No smoking near the vehicle. Ask the driver to switch off the engine if it is safe.
  2. Count the casualties. Call 112 once to say how many, then call back with detail (see Unit 4).
  3. Do not pull anyone out of the car unless there is fire or other immediate danger.
  4. Do the primary survey on each person you can reach safely, starting with the quiet ones (a quiet casualty may be unresponsive).
  5. For a person who must stay in the car: support the head from behind, keep talking, and wait for the ambulance and fire service.
  6. Stop filming. Ask the crowd politely to put phones away and keep back.
  7. Write a handover sheet.

Crash spots

List the three most dangerous road spots near your home. For each, write the landmark sentence you would give 112 and where the nearest health facility is.

Check yourself

  1. What does AMPLE stand for?
  2. Name four signs after a head injury that mean call 112 at once.
  3. Why must you not put a collar on a person with a suspected neck injury?
03

Unit 2 · Medical emergencies: chest pain, stroke, asthma, low blood sugar and severe allergy

Not every emergency has blood. The person who sits down holding their chest, or whose smile is crooked, needs you just as fast.

Competency standard

Learning outcome Performance criteria — the trainee…
2.1 Recognise a heart attack names the signs, calls 112 at once and rests the person
2.2 Recognise a stroke uses FAST and calls 112 at once, noting the time
2.3 Help in an asthma attack sits the person up and helps them use their own inhaler
2.4 Help with low blood sugar gives sugar only to a responsive person who can swallow
2.5 Help in a severe allergy recognises anaphylaxis, calls 112 and helps with the person's own auto-injector

Range. Role-plays with trainer devices (no medicine, no needles). Evidence. Observed role-plays; FAST check; oral questions.

Chest pain: possible heart attack

Signs: chest pain, especially with pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, or with sweating. Call 112 immediately, even if the pain has lasted only a couple of minutes; it is very urgent if the pain is intense, the person is short of breath, pale, clammy, or has blue lips, ears, fingers or toes.

  1. Call 112.
  2. Help them into a comfortable position (often half-sitting, knees bent) and stop all activity.
  3. If they have been diagnosed with angina and carry their own medicine, help them take it.
  4. Loosen tight clothing. Keep them calm. Watch breathing.
  5. If they become unresponsive and stop breathing normally, start CPR.

Aspirin. IFRC guidelines say a person with a suspected heart attack may take 150–300 mg of aspirin by mouth while waiting for help, unless they are allergic to it or have already taken their usual dose. In this course you do not give aspirin on your own decision. Only do it if your recognised practical course has taught you, the person is alert and agrees, and the 112 call-taker advises it. Whether a first aider may give aspirin under Ghana's rules was not verified.

Stroke: FAST

A stroke happens when blood flow to part of the brain stops; fast hospital care improves the chance of a good outcome.

Letter Check What you see
F Face Ask them to smile or show their teeth One side droops
A Arm Ask them to hold both arms out, palms up One arm drifts down
S Speech Ask them to repeat a simple sentence Slurred, wrong words, or none
T Time Note when it started; call 112 at once

Other sudden signs: confusion, trouble seeing, trouble walking or dizziness, a sudden severe headache with no cause. Help the person into the most comfortable position; do not give oxygen (only trained providers carry it anyway). Give nothing to eat or drink: swallowing may be affected (teaching advice). If the signs go away within minutes, the person still needs medical care soon.

Asthma attack

  1. Help them sit up in a comfortable position, often leaning forward with arms resting on a table.
  2. Reassure them. Loosen tight clothing. Move them away from smoke or dust.
  3. Ask them to use their own inhaler; you may help them use it if local rules allow; a spacer may help.
  4. Call 112 if they have no inhaler, the inhaler does not help, or breathing gets very bad (confused, slow and quieter breathing).
  5. Stay with them and keep watching.

Never use another person's inhaler or buy one for them: inhalers are prescribed medicines (teaching advice).

Low blood sugar (diabetic emergency)

A person with diabetes may have too little sugar in the blood. They may be shaky, sweaty, confused or behaving oddly (signs: teaching advice; confirm on your practical course).

  1. Only if the person is responsive and can swallow: give sugar: glucose tablets, sweets, sugar cubes or orange juice.
  2. About 15–20 g of glucose is the guide amount; repeat if there is no improvement after 15 minutes.
  3. If you are unsure whether sugar is high or low, treat as low.
  4. If they do not improve, or get worse, call 112.
  5. Never put food or drink into the mouth of an unresponsive person: use the recovery position and call 112.

Severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)

Anaphylaxis can follow insect stings, foods such as groundnuts, or medicines. Signs can include swelling of the face and throat, difficulty breathing, a rash and collapse (signs: teaching advice; confirm on your practical course).

  1. Call 112.
  2. Ask about known allergies and prescribed medicine.
  3. Remove the cause if you can (for example, move away from bees).
  4. Help the person use their own prescribed adrenaline (epinephrine) auto-injector into the outer thigh; you may give it for them only if a doctor prescribed it for them, they cannot do it themselves, and local law allows.
  5. If there is no improvement after 5–10 minutes and help has not arrived, a second dose may be considered if they have one.
  6. Position: sitting up if breathing is hard; lying with legs raised if faint; recovery position if unresponsive and breathing (teaching advice). Be ready for CPR.

Auto-injectors are not common in Ghana (not verified). Learn on a trainer device.

Medical emergency stations

You need: a trainer inhaler and spacer; a trainer auto-injector; sugar cubes; scenario cards; a stopwatch; 70% alcohol wipes.

  1. Station 1, chest pain: a trader of 55 at the market. Call, position, ask AMPLE, help with "own" medicine.
  2. Station 2, FAST: your partner acts out a stroke. Do FAST aloud and give the time of onset to "112".
  3. Station 3, asthma: coach the partner to use the trainer inhaler with spacer.
  4. Station 4, low sugar: responsive partner: give sugar and time 15 minutes (2 minutes in class). Then the partner "becomes unresponsive": recovery position and 112.
  5. Station 5, anaphylaxis: practise the trainer auto-injector on the outer thigh of a manikin.
  6. Clean trainer devices with 70% alcohol before and after each user.

FAST at home

Teach FAST to three people. Ask each to repeat the four letters back to you the next day. Record how many remembered.

Check yourself

  1. What does FAST stand for?
  2. When may you give sugar to a person with diabetes?
  3. What is the Level 2 rule about medicines?
04

Unit 3 · Drowning, chemical and eye injuries, and serious burns

On the coast and on the river, the bravest helper is often the one who stays on land, throws the rope and calls for help.

Competency standard

Learning outcome Performance criteria — the trainee…
3.1 Prevent drowning teaches water safety rules to children and carers
3.2 Rescue safely uses reach and throw from land and does not swim out untrained
3.3 Resuscitate after drowning gives CPR with rescue breaths and recovery position
3.4 Treat chemical injuries flushes skin and eyes with running water until pain eases and refers
3.5 Judge a serious burn knows which burns need 112 or hospital

Range. Dry-land rescue practice; manikins; eye-wash role-play. Evidence. Observed reach-and-throw; CPR after drowning; burn and chemical drill.

Drowning

About 300,000 people drown each year worldwide; 92% of drowning deaths are in low- and middle-income countries, and children under five are nearly a quarter of the deaths. Covering wells, barriers, supervised childcare, and teaching school-age children swimming, water safety and safe rescue all prevent drowning.

Water safety rules to teach:

  • Learn swimming and water-safety skills; always swim with others
  • Obey safety signs and warning flags; know the water and weather first
  • Never go into the water after drinking alcohol
  • Know how and when to use a life jacket, especially for children and weak swimmers (and fishermen at sea)
  • Always enter shallow or unknown water feet first
  • Watch children in or near water closely and all the time
  • Learn first aid and CPR, and learn safe ways of rescuing without putting yourself in danger

Safe rescue: reach, throw, do not go

  1. Shout for help and call 112.
  2. Reach from the shore or canoe with a long stick, paddle, rope or cloth, lying down so you are not pulled in.
  3. Throw something that floats: an empty, closed plastic jerrycan or bottle, a life jacket, a plank, a rope.
  4. Do not swim out unless you are trained in water rescue: many helpers drown (teaching advice).
  5. Once the person is out, check DR ABC.

(Steps 2–4 are teaching advice consistent with the IFRC call to learn safe rescue; learn them on a practical water-safety course.)

CPR after drowning

A drowned person's heart stops because they could not breathe, so rescue breaths matter: IFRC guidelines stress rescue breaths with chest compressions for people who are not breathing after drowning, rather than compressions only. Follow your Level 1 CPR steps, giving breaths if you are trained. They may vomit: turn them on their side, clear the mouth, and continue. Anyone pulled from the water after near-drowning must be checked at a health facility (teaching advice).

Chemical burns and eyes

Chemicals at home and work include caustic soda (soap making), bleach, battery acid, cement and pesticides.

  1. Put on gloves. Make sure the chemical cannot reach you.
  2. Brush off any dry powder first (teaching advice).
  3. Rinse skin or eyes with running water until the pain eases. At least 20 minutes is the usual teaching (Level 1); keep going on the way to the facility if possible.
  4. Eye: lie or sit the person with the injured eye lower, so the water runs away from the other eye; hold the eyelids open gently; the person will need help. IFRC says to rinse a chemical eye injury at once with clean water and that the person will need assistance; the head position is teaching advice.
  5. Remove soaked clothing and jewellery while rinsing.
  6. Keep the label or container and take it to the health facility.

Serious burns: when to call 112 or go to hospital

IFRC guidelines say heat burns should be cooled with running water for at least 10 minutes, ideally 20, and that even small burns can be very harmful for a baby, a child or an older person. As a rule for this course (teaching advice; your practical course may add more), call 112 or go straight to hospital for:

  • burns on babies, children and older people
  • burns on the face, hands, feet, joints or genitals
  • burns larger than the person's hand, or deep, white, charred or painless burns
  • burns going all round a limb or the body
  • electrical and chemical burns
  • burns with breathing in smoke, coughing or a hoarse voice

Watch for shock (Level 1) and keep the person warm while you cool only the burn (teaching advice).

Water and chemical drills (dry land)

You need: a rope; a closed empty jerrycan; a long stick; a mat; an adult manikin; an eye-wash bottle of clean water; a towel; gloves.

  1. A partner lies on the mat ("in the water", 3 metres away). Lie flat, reach with the stick. Then throw the jerrycan so it lands within reach. Then throw the rope and pull.
  2. CPR after drowning on the manikin: 5 minutes of 30:2 with a swap. Turn the manikin on its side for "vomiting".
  3. Eye rinse: the partner sits with the "injured" eye lower; pour clean water from the inner corner outward, eyelids gently open.
  4. Talk through which of five burn cards need 112.

Water safety talk plan

Write a 5-minute water-safety talk for a school or a fishing community, using the rules above. Include one demonstration with a jerrycan.

Check yourself

  1. Why should an untrained helper not swim out to a drowning person?
  2. Why are rescue breaths important after drowning?
  3. How long do you rinse a chemical in the eye?
05

Unit 4 · Psychological first aid, several casualties and caring for the helper

After a fire, a crash or a death, people need more than bandages. A calm voice, a blanket and a phone call home are first aid too.

Competency standard

Learning outcome Performance criteria — the trainee…
4.1 Give psychological first aid uses Look, Listen and Link with a distressed person
4.2 Handle several casualties calls 112 early, checks everyone quickly and helps the most serious first
4.3 Protect privacy and dignity stops filming, keeps the crowd back and keeps confidences
4.4 Care for yourself names normal stress reactions and where to get support

Range. Role-plays; a mock incident with three to five casualties. Evidence. Observed role-plays; incident record; reflection note.

Psychological first aid: Look, Listen, Link

Anyone with suitable training, including volunteers and members of the public, can give psychological first aid; it does not need a psychologist. It is not counselling and not pressing people for details.

Step What you do
Look Check safety and security; find out what happened; who needs help; any injuries; basic needs (water, shelter, blanket); emotional reactions
Listen Approach and introduce yourself; listen carefully; accept their feelings; help them calm down; ask about needs and concerns
Link Help them get information, contact loved ones, solve practical problems, and reach services

Do not press anyone to describe what happened or to share their feelings. If someone has experienced something very sensitive, such as sexual violence, privacy is essential. If the place is not safe, do not stay to give first aid.

Refer, do not counsel. If a person talks about harming themselves or others, or cannot cope days later, link them to the health facility, a trusted religious leader or family, and the police where there is danger. Do not leave a person who says they will harm themselves alone (teaching advice).

Several casualties

When more than one person is hurt:

  1. Call 112 first to say there may be several casualties; call again with details later.
  2. Quickly check everyone before you treat anyone.
  3. Help first those with life-threatening problems of breathing and circulation (not breathing normally; heavy bleeding).

A simple sort (teaching aid, not an official triage system):

Group Who What you do
Now Not breathing normally, heavy bleeding, unresponsive Airway, pressure on bleeding, recovery position; ask a bystander to keep pressure
Soon Cannot walk, but breathing and talking Keep still; reassure; check every few minutes
Can wait Walking and talking Ask them to sit together in a safe place; one helper watches them

Professional teams use formal triage systems; studies show training improves triage accuracy. Leave formal triage tags to the ambulance service.

Privacy and filming

Filming casualties humiliates them and can block responders. Ask the crowd to stop filming, put a cloth over an exposed person, and never post pictures yourself.

Caring for yourself

After a bad incident, it is normal to have trouble sleeping, see pictures in your mind, feel angry or sad, or not want to talk (teaching advice). Most people recover with rest and support. Talk to someone you trust, your trainer or team leader. If it does not ease after a few weeks, see a health worker.

Mock incident: trotro crash (three to five casualties)

You need: three to five volunteers with story cards (one "unresponsive, breathing"; one "heavy leg bleed"; one "broken arm, walking"; one "very upset, unhurt"); gloves; dressings; a blanket; a clipboard.

  1. Scene safety first.
  2. Call "112" early: say how many.
  3. Check everyone in under 2 minutes; sort into Now, Soon, Can wait.
  4. Treat the Now group; direct bystanders to help (keep pressure; watch the walking wounded).
  5. Give psychological first aid to the upset person: Look, Listen, Link.
  6. Hand over to the "ambulance crew" with your sheet.
  7. Debrief: what went well, what you would do differently.

Reflection

Write half a page about a time you saw an emergency or accident. How did people react? What would you do now? (You may keep this private; show only the last paragraph to your trainer.)

Check yourself

  1. What are the three action principles of psychological first aid?
  2. With several casualties, whom do you help first?
  3. Name two things psychological first aid is not.
06

Unit 5 · The community health helper at Level 2: home visits, health talks and campaigns

A health talk changes minds. A home visit changes habits. A good referral changes the ending.

Competency standard

Learning outcome Performance criteria — the trainee…
5.1 Plan home visits keeps a household list and visits with consent, respect and a checklist
5.2 Run a health talk plans and delivers a 15-minute talk with a demonstration and questions
5.3 Support malaria campaigns explains how nets reach families in Ghana and helps with hanging and use
5.4 Respond to diarrhoea and animal bites teaches prevention and ORS mixing, and refers danger signs
5.5 Refer and record properly uses the CHPS referral route and keeps records safely

Range. Five supervised home visits (with a CHPS officer or trainer) and one health talk. Evidence. Household register (no names in class copies); visit checklists; talk plan and feedback; referral notes.

How you fit into CHPS

A CHPS zone is an area served by a resident community health officer working from a local compound with community health management structures; the core services include outreach, home visits, care of minor illnesses, antenatal care and referral.

In one Ghana programme, volunteers were nominated by their community for literacy and willingness, given five days of training, met monthly at the CHPS compound, had a workshop every six months, and were retrained if they scored below 80 out of 100. They were asked to visit about 20 households a month and kept a logbook and a community register.

Your first step: visit your CHPS compound or health centre, introduce yourself and your Level 1 and 2 training, and ask how you can help under their direction.

Home visits

A home visit, step by step

You need: your helper ID or letter from the CHPS officer; a visit checklist; a pen; soap; a small demonstration net or picture cards; ORS sachet (demonstration).

  1. Greet the household head; explain who you are and ask permission to come in. Respect a "no".
  2. Ask about the family's health: anyone sick, pregnant, or a new baby?
  3. Look (with permission): a handwashing place with soap? Nets hung and used? Safe drinking water covered? A toilet?
  4. Teach one thing only, with a demonstration (for example, hanging the net).
  5. Check danger signs (Level 1 list). If any, refer today; walk with them if you can.
  6. Write the visit in your register: date, household number (not name in shared copies), what you taught, any referral.
  7. Agree when you will come back.

Check. Did you ask permission? Did you teach one clear thing? Did you write only facts? Common mistake: giving advice on medicines ("give him Para"). Fix: "Please take him to the CHPS compound; they will decide."

Health talks

  • One topic, one key message, 15 minutes
  • Start with a question ("Who here has had malaria this year?")
  • Show, do not just tell: handwashing, net hanging, ORS mixing
  • Use the local language and pictures; check understanding with questions
  • End with one action people can take today
  • Write attendance numbers and questions asked

Malaria: how nets reach families

Ghana gives insecticide-treated nets routinely to pregnant women at their first antenatal visit and to children under five at the second measles-rubella vaccination, and also runs free mass campaigns. By 2021, about 93% of women at their first antenatal visit received a net. Malaria deaths in Ghana fell from 2,799 in 2012 to 151 in 2022, and national prevalence fell from 14.1% in 2019 to 8.6% in 2022; the plan for 2024–2028 aims to cut malaria deaths by 90%.

Your role in a campaign (only when the health service invites you): help register households, explain the net's use, help older people and new mothers hang nets, and report families that were missed. In campaigns, volunteers' work has been paid on a contract basis in the past (not verified for current campaigns).

Messages:

  • Everyone sleeps under a treated net every night, all year, especially children under five and pregnant women
  • Pregnant women: attend antenatal care early; collect your net there
  • Fever: go to be tested the same day; do not buy malaria medicine without a test
  • Clear standing water around the house (teaching advice)

Diarrhoea, ORS and hygiene

Teach prevention (safe water, toilets, handwashing, breastfeeding), and how to mix ORS exactly as the packet says with safe water; keep feeding the child; refer persistent diarrhoea, blood in the stool or dehydration.

ORS by the packet (example packet)

An example ORS packet says: "Dissolve one sachet in 1 litre of clean water." A mother has a clean 1.5-litre mineral-water bottle and a 500 ml sachet-water bag. (a) Which container can measure exactly 1 litre? (b) If the child drinks about 100 ml after each loose stool, and has 6 loose stools in a day, how much ORS is that? (c) How many sachets will she need for that day?

Animal bites

Teach every family: wash any dog bite or scratch with soap and water for 15 minutes and go to a health facility the same day for rabies care. Encourage dog owners to vaccinate their dogs (teaching advice; ask the district veterinary office).

Records and confidentiality

  • Keep the household register in a closed bag or locked box. Class copies use household numbers, not names.
  • Share health details only with the CHPS officer or health worker.
  • Do not post or forward people's health information on WhatsApp.
  • Ghana's Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) sets principles for collecting, holding and sharing personal information, including security safeguards, and data controllers and processors must register with the Data Protection Commission. As a volunteer, you work under the health service's records system; if you later run your own service (Level 3), you will need to register.

Talk plan

Write a full 15-minute health-talk plan on malaria or diarrhoea: key message, demonstration, three questions, one action. Deliver it to your family and note their questions.

Check yourself

  1. At which two routine visits does Ghana give out treated nets?
  2. Name four steps of a home visit.
  3. Who may see your household register?
07

Unit 6 · First-aid kits, event first aid and quality

A first-aid box with an empty plaster packet and a dried-up bandage is worse than none: people trust it and it fails them.

Competency standard

Learning outcome Performance criteria — the trainee…
6.1 Manage kit stock keeps a stock card, rotates by expiry and restocks
6.2 Advise on kit numbers applies L.I. 655 to a workplace and recommends kit sizes
6.3 Support event first aid plans a first-aid point for an event under a recognised provider or organiser
6.4 Keep quality keeps certificates in date, refreshes skills and cleans equipment

Range. Three kits; one mock event plan. Evidence. Stock cards; kit advice note; event plan; refresher record.

Kit stock control

Item In kit Minimum Expiry Checked Action
Sterile dressing, medium 3 4 03/2028 12/10/26 Add 1
Triangular bandage 2 2 n/a 12/10/26 OK
Gloves, pairs 1 4 01/2029 12/10/26 Add 3

(The table entries are an example.)

  • First expired, first out: put new stock at the back
  • Remove all tablets and medicines
  • Check seals: an opened sterile pack is no longer sterile
  • Keep kits dry and out of direct sun (on canoes, in a sealed plastic box)
  • Sign and date the check label inside the lid

How many kits does a workplace need?

Ghana's First Aid Regulations, 1970 (L.I. 655) require a first-aid box or cupboard in every factory, office and shop, plus one more for every 150 people employed above the first 150. Section 28 of the Factories, Offices and Shops Act requires first-aid provision with a first aider and a first-aid box.

Kits for a factory

A cassava processing factory employs 420 people. Using the L.I. 655 rule above, how many first-aid boxes does it need at least?

Event first aid

St John Ghana provides event first-aid support and sells first-aid kits. At Level 2, you support events as part of a recognised provider's team or as a volunteer under the organiser, not as an independent "medical team".

Plan a first-aid point for a funeral or football match

You need: a map of the venue; the expected crowd number; a kit list; a contact sheet.

  1. Find out from the organiser: date, hours, crowd size, heat, water, alcohol, vehicles.
  2. Mark on the map: the first-aid point (shade, water, seats, a mat); the route for an ambulance; the nearest health facility.
  3. List the team: at least two trained helpers together, and who leads.
  4. Kit: two complete kits, extra gloves, blankets, drinking water, a stretcher or a strong blanket, cling film, a torch, record sheets.
  5. Communications: the 112 landmark sentence for the venue; phone numbers of the organiser and the nearest facility.
  6. Record every person you help: time, problem, what you did, where they went.
  7. Afterwards: restock, report to the organiser, debrief.

Keep your skills and gear in good order

  • Keep your certificate in date and book refreshers; IFRC suggests refreshers three to six months after a course, and short sessions of 45 minutes or less can be valuable.
  • Clean manikins (face, mouth and chest plate) before each user, follow the maker's cleaning instructions, and give each learner their own bandages and blankets during a session.
  • Keep a log of every incident you attend, with no names in shared copies.

Kit audit

Ask permission to check the first-aid box at a shop, school or church. Fill a stock card and give the owner a "missing and expired" list.

Check yourself

  1. What does L.I. 655 require?
  2. Why must an opened sterile dressing be replaced?
  3. How soon after a course does IFRC suggest a refresher?
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Unit 7 · Your location, business and marketing at Level 2

Customers pay for reliability. Turn up on the day you promised, with a full kit and a current certificate.

Competency standard

Learning outcome Performance criteria — the trainee…
7.1 Choose a service picks honest services that fit Level 2 and the law
7.2 Price a contract costs and prices a monthly kit service contract
7.3 Choose a location names locations that give good returns
7.4 Market yourself uses WhatsApp Business, Google Business Profile, signage, referrals and a portfolio
7.5 Include everyone plans adjustments for workers and customers with disabilities

Range. The trainee's own plan. Evidence. Contract price sheet; marketing plan; portfolio.

Honest services at Level 2

  • Kit supply and monthly refill contracts for shops, schools, churches, transport stations, farms, fishing companies and small factories (including the L.I. 655 count)
  • Workplace kit audits with a written report
  • Event first-aid support as part of a recognised provider's team, or as an organiser's volunteer team lead
  • Health promotion support for NGOs and the health service: talks, net hanging, household surveys (only when they engage you)
  • Organising certified courses: you find the learners and the venue; a recognised provider's instructor teaches and certifies (agree fees in writing)
  • Water-safety talks for schools and fishing communities

Never claim to be "medical", "paramedic" or a "certified trainer" unless it is true. Do not issue certificates. Do not sell medicines: medicine sellers in Ghana need their own licence (the details were not verified for this book).

Location settings that give good returns

  • Industrial areas, ports and fishing harbours (Takoradi, Sekondi), where L.I. 655 applies and kits are used up
  • Lorry stations and transport unions: drivers buy kits and refills
  • Schools and churches with many people and many events
  • Coastal and farming communities (Akwidaa, Dixcove, Busua, Agona Nkwanta) for water-safety and snakebite talks
  • Near your CHPS compound, if you also volunteer there

Price a monthly refill contract (all figures example)

You service 10 shops. Each month, on average, each kit needs GH¢35 of refills. Your transport is GH¢120 a month in total, and you spend 1 hour per shop. You want GH¢20 an hour for your time, plus 25% on the cost of refills. (a) What is your total monthly cost of refills and transport? (b) What should you charge each shop a month (refills plus 25%, plus time, plus a fair share of transport)? (c) What do you earn in a month from the 10 shops after paying for refills and transport?

Market yourself

  • WhatsApp Business: business profile, catalogue of kits and services with prices, greeting and away messages. Share reminders ("Has your kit been checked this month?").
  • Google Business Profile: list your service and area so businesses searching nearby find you; ask happy customers for honest reviews.
  • Signage: at your stall or on your bag: "First-aid kits · refills · kit checks".
  • Referrals: transport union leaders, school heads, pastors and imams, safety officers, the CHPS officer.
  • Portfolio: current certificate (with date), refresher records, volunteer letters, event thank-you letters, kit audit reports (customer names removed), photos of talks (with permission).

Accessibility

Act 715 bans discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment and requires services open to the public to be accessible. The Assemblies' disability fund rose from 3% to 5% in 2026 and now favours skills, assistive devices and start-up capital. IFRC guidance asks trainers to help learners with sensory or physical disabilities find ways to assess the scene and the person that work with their strengths.

  • Workable roles: kit assembly, stock control and audits; record keeping; health talks (including in Ghanaian Sign Language for deaf audiences); phone coordination at events; psychological first aid; leading a team that does the physical tasks.
  • Adjustments: table-height manikins; checklists in large print, Braille or audio; picture cards; vibrating phone alerts; a partner for lifting and kneeling tasks; accessible venues for talks.
  • Customers with disabilities: health talks with sign-language interpreters; large-print 112 cards; ask the person how they prefer to be helped.

Business plan at Level 2

  1. Choose two services from the list and say why they fit you and the law.
  2. Price one monthly contract (use the exercise method with your own quotes).
  3. Choose a location and route.
  4. Write your WhatsApp Business profile text (under 100 words).
  5. List your portfolio items and what is still missing.

Three quotes

Get prices for a 25-person first-aid kit from three sellers (shop, pharmacy, online). Compare with the October 2026 advertised prices of about GH¢360–399.

Check yourself

  1. Who teaches and certifies when you organise a certified course?
  2. Name three places that give good returns for kit contracts.
  3. Name two adjustments that help a trainee with low vision.
09

Glossary

Term Meaning
AMPLE Allergies, Medicines, Previous history, Last meal, Event: the history questions
Anaphylaxis A severe, life-threatening allergic reaction
Auto-injector A pen that injects a prescribed dose of adrenaline into the thigh
A/V/P/U Alert, responds to Voice, responds to Pain, Unresponsive
Concussion A brain injury after a blow to the head
FAST Face, Arm, Speech, Time: stroke check
Hypoglycaemia Too little sugar in the blood
Inhaler A device that delivers prescribed asthma medicine into the lungs
L.I. 655 Ghana's First Aid Regulations, 1970
Psychological first aid Practical and emotional support for people in distress: Look, Listen, Link
Secondary survey History, signs and symptoms after the primary survey
Spinal injury Injury to the neck or back bones and the cord inside
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Logbook

  • Unit 1: secondary survey records; road crash role-play; crash spots list
  • Unit 2: medical emergency station checklists; FAST teaching record
  • Unit 3: reach-and-throw and CPR-after-drowning records; eye rinse; water-safety talk plan
  • Unit 4: mock incident record and debrief; reflection (last paragraph)
  • Unit 5: five home-visit checklists; health-talk plan and feedback; referral notes
  • Unit 6: stock cards; kit audit; event plan; refresher record
  • Unit 7: contract price sheet; WhatsApp profile; portfolio list; three quotes
  • Every homework, dated
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Self-check quiz

  1. When do you do the secondary survey, and what does AMPLE stand for?
  2. Name five signs after a head injury that mean you call 112 at once.
  3. What do you do (and not do) for a suspected neck injury?
  4. What are the signs of a possible heart attack?
  5. Explain FAST.
  6. How do you help in an asthma attack?
  7. When can you give sugar, and how much?
  8. What is the Level 2 rule about helping with medicines?
  9. Describe a safe water rescue for an untrained helper.
  10. What are the three steps of psychological first aid?
  11. With five casualties, what do you do first?
  12. How many first-aid boxes does a workplace of 150 people need under L.I. 655?
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Further reading and sources

Best next reads: the IFRC International First Aid, Resuscitation and Education Guidelines 2020 (sections on medical emergencies, psychological first aid and education); a recognised practical course and its refresher; the Hub's Caregiving and Workplace Safety Level 2 manuals; Money Skills Level 2.

What this module does not cover: leading teams at incidents, delivering first-aid education in partnership with a recognised provider, running a community health programme, and setting up, financing and keeping the books of your own first-aid business (see Level 3).

Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.

One application of the Cold-Start Learning Kit, which stays general-purpose and can build a guide on any topic in any field. Written in CTVET format; not a CTVET curriculum.