First Aid Primary & Secondary Care

Vendor:PADI

First Aid Primary & Secondary Care

R 2,000.00 ZAR

The skills that matter long before a dive boat is anywhere in sight.

Most emergencies don't happen underwater. They happen in car parks, kitchens, on hiking trails, at braais, in the moments between one ordinary minute and the next when someone suddenly needs help and there's nobody trained nearby to give it. Emergency First Response is built for exactly that gap.

This course covers CPR and first aid together, Primary Care and Secondary Care, taught through PADI's Emergency First Response programme. You'll work through eLearning at your own pace before joining a hands-on practical session covering skill development and realistic scenarios. All course equipment (training manikins, bandaging materials, and practice gear) is included for the duration of the practical session, so there's nothing to source or bring along yourself. You don't need to be a diver to take this course, and there's no scuba certification required, it's genuinely open to anyone who wants the confidence to act when it counts.

For divers specifically, this course also satisfies the CPR and first aid prerequisite required before starting PADI Rescue Diver, so it's often taken as a stepping stone toward that certification rather than as a standalone.

What This Course Gives You

By the end, you'll be confident performing CPR, managing serious bleeding and shock, handling a suspected spinal injury, and responding to both conscious and unconscious choking, the core skills covered in Primary Care. Secondary Care builds on that with practical first aid: injury and illness assessment, bandaging, and splinting for dislocations and fractures.

This isn't about memorising steps for an exam. It's about building genuine confidence to respond calmly in a real emergency, practised through realistic scenarios until the right response becomes instinct rather than guesswork.

Ready to be the person who knows what to do? Book your EFR course below, or get in touch with our team if you've got questions about how it fits alongside your dive training.

What This Course Entails

Your course starts with PADI's Emergency First Response eLearning, worked through in your own time on your phone or computer, covering the knowledge development side of both Primary and Secondary Care before you arrive for the practical session.

From there, a hands-on practical session with your instructor covers skill development and realistic scenarios. Primary Care covers scene assessment, barrier use, primary patient assessment, CPR, serious bleeding management, shock management, spinal injury management, and choking management, both conscious and unconscious. Secondary Care follows with injury and illness assessment, along with bandaging and splinting technique.

Throughout the practical session, you'll work through realistic scenarios with your instructor, so the skills are tested under conditions that actually resemble a real emergency, not just talked through in theory.

Prerequisites
  • No prior certification, first aid experience, or fitness level required.
  • No minimum age restriction, though younger participants should be able to engage meaningfully with the practical scenarios.
  • Genuinely open to anyone, diver or non-diver.

Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be a scuba diver to take this course?

No. Emergency First Response is open to anyone who wants CPR and first aid skills, diver or not. It's a genuinely standalone course, not exclusively a diving prerequisite.

Does this course count toward my PADI Rescue Diver prerequisites?

Yes. Completing EFR Primary and Secondary Care satisfies the CPR and first aid requirement for PADI Rescue Diver, provided it's current within the past 24 months at the time you start Rescue Diver training.

What's the difference between Primary Care and Secondary Care?

Primary Care covers life-threatening emergencies: CPR, serious bleeding, shock, and choking. Secondary Care covers injuries and illnesses that aren't immediately life-threatening, such as bandaging, splinting, and general injury assessment. This course covers both together.

How long is my EFR certification valid for?

It's recommended you refresh your EFR skills every 24 months, particularly if you're using this course to satisfy the Rescue Diver prerequisite, which requires current training within that window.

How long does the course take to complete?

The eLearning is self-paced and typically takes a couple of hours, worked through before your practical session. Most participants complete the hands-on practical session, covering both Primary and Secondary Care scenarios, within a single day.

Pairs well with