Changes in first aid training: by Nick Tolson.
On October 1, 2009 the new Health & Safety First Aid rules come into force which will have an affect on how security businesses operate. There are several changes and recommendations that employers need to consider.<br><br>The first thing to remember about providing qualified first aiders is that there is nothing written in law about the number of First Aiders or equipment you should have. The Health & Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 require that employers should have "suitable first aid equipment, facilities and personnel to enable first aid to be given to employees if they become injured or ill at work."<br><br>‘Suitable’ is left to each employer to decide. This can be a problem as if you have an incident and you are investigated by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) they will examine how you reached your ‘suitable’ level of First Aid equipment & provision of First Aiders. It is in your interest to get it right! <br><br>First Aiders<br>Under the new guidelines there are three levels of training for those who are involved in First Aid at Work;<br><br>Appointed Persons – these are people who are ‘appointed’ to look after the First Aid Kit to ensure it is adequate and phone for an ambulance in an emergency. They do not need to have completed any training although most First Aid providers run a one day training for Appointed Persons. <br><br>APPOINTED PERSONS ARE NOT FIRST AIDERS! <br><br>Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) – This is the new one day course which qualifies people for three years as First Aiders, it covers basic life support and simple first aid for minor injuries. There is on-going assessment by the trainer with no test at the end of the day. <br><br>First Aid at Work (FAW) – This is a three day course with qualifies people for three years as a First Aider. This course covers the Emergency First Aid at Work course, plus additional training in other injuries and illnesses. There are three scenario based assessments at the end of the course in unconscious casualty who is breathing, unconscious casualty who is not breathing (CPR) and a conscious casualty (usually bleeding or similar)<br><br>The HSE is ‘strongly recommending’ that all First Aiders take a three-hour refresher training every year. This is not a requirement in law but it is probably good to do as if there is an incident where the HSE get involved you will have to explain why you did not follow their guidelines!<br><br>How to decide which level of first aider you need?<br><br>Firstly, every employer has to do a risk assessment on your place of work (or where your staff are going to work, remember it is the employer’s responsibility not the place where you are working to provide suitable first aid cover)<br><br>From October 2009 the new risk assessment guidelines from HSE state that LOW hazard premises are shops, offices and libraries. Every other type of premises are now HIGHER hazard<br><br>Whenever you have employees working in a low hazard premises then it is recommended by the HSE (which means you probably ought to follow these recommendations!) that;<br><br>Less than 25 employees – one Appointed Person<br>25 to 50 employees – at least one First Aider (EFAW or FAW)<br>50 or above – at least one First Aider (FAW) per 50 staff or part.<br><br><br>If you have employees who are working in a higher hazard premises (anywhere other than a shop, office or library) it is recommended by HSE that;<br><br>Less than 5 employees – one Appointed Person<br>5 to 50 employees – at least one First Aider (EFAW or FAW)<br>50 or above – at least one First Aider (FAW) per 50 staff or part.<br><br>What does this mean in practice?<br><br>In reality a good employer should always have a qualified first aider on duty whenever there are employees working. The HSE have recognised that taking staff away from their duties for four days (as the old First Aid at Work Course did) was not encouraging employers to have First Aiders ready to deal with any incidents. The introduction of the one day course is their response to this. It is hoped that employers will be encouraged to get as many of their staff as possible through the one day Emergency First Aid at Work Course with larger firms having some staff trained in the three day First Aid at Work Course. The HSE is expecting a huge increase in one day courses and a reduction in the three day courses. <br><br>Good Samaritans<br><br>Security staff are often called to, or are present at, incidents where injuries or illnesses have occurred. I believe that it is very important that all security staff should be qualified first aiders as they will often be the only people present before the arrival of the emergency services who have the right attitude to deal with life threatening (and other) first aid situations. First Aid Training is part of the essential development training of security staff and should be included in any initial or ongoing training. <br><br>The law only mentions an employer’s duty to employees but it is important that a First Aider uses their skills to save the life of, or treat, anyone that they may come across who has a problem. Sometimes people worry that they may be sued if they get it wrong. Please be reassured that no-one in this country has ever been sued for attempting to save someone’s life. As long as you follow your training then there is no problem. When working for the ambulance service it is incredibly frustrating to get to an incident where someone is not breathing has died when simple basic life support could have saved them. Often there are people standing around who had received first aid training but were worried about using their skills or worried about being sued. All good first aid training providers will offer good Samaritan insurance for those first aiders who are worried about being sued so you can be covered if you want! <br><br>About the author : Nick Tolson is a fully qualified Health and Safety Executive recognised First Aid Trainer / Assessor. He works for the ambulance service and is available to run courses for security (and other) businesses that require first aid training. He can be contacted on e mail at [email protected] or ring him on 07931 353395.
For background visit the HSE website –
http://www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/index.htm
