The Soteria Group’s First Response Emergency Care Level 4 (FREC 4) course is an advanced pre-hospital qualification designed for responders who operate in high-risk, technical, and resource-limited environments where clinical decision-making, casualty management, and operational integration are critical.

Fully aligned with Qualsafe Awards and regulated by Ofqual, this programme extends well beyond standard delivery. Training is deliberately adapted to the environments, hazards, and rescue disciplines in which your teams function.

Environment-Adapted Advanced Care

FREC 4 with The Soteria Group is delivered in direct relation to your operational context, including:

• Rope and vertical rescue operations

• Water and swiftwater rescue environments

• Confined space and industrial incidents

• Remote, austere, and delayed-evacuation settings

Clinical care is integrated with access, packaging, prolonged casualty management, and evacuation planning, ensuring medical interventions support — rather than hinder — technical rescue operations.

Advanced Clinical Scope

Participants develop advanced assessment and management skills for trauma and medical casualties, including airway management, oxygen therapy, advanced haemorrhage control, fracture and spinal management, pain assessment, monitoring and recording of vital signs, and recognition of patient deterioration.

Decision-making is framed by time, environment, rescue capability, and evacuation constraints, preparing responders to manage casualties over extended timelines when definitive care is not immediately available.

Who It’s For

FREC 4 is intended for rescue team medics, team leaders, advanced first responders, and professionals operating in environments where higher-level medical competence is required but traditional ambulance or hospital support may be significantly delayed.

The Soteria Group Delivery Model

Delivered by instructors with extensive operational experience in rescue medicine and austere environments, training is immersive, scenario-driven, and grounded in realism. Scenarios incorporate environmental stress, limited resources, communication challenges, and the cognitive load associated with complex rescue operations.

Human factors, leadership, and effective integration within multi-disciplinary rescue teams are embedded throughout the course.

Qualification & Progression

Successful candidates achieve a FREC Level 4 qualification, typically valid for three years. This course supports progression into specialist rescue medical roles and higher-level pathways, including technical rescue medical support, remote and expedition medicine, TECC, and advanced trauma courses.

This is FREC 4 delivered as an operational capability, tailored to how and where you work, ensuring your responders can provide credible, effective medical care when environments are complex, resources are limited, and decisions matter.