First aid at work is an incredibly vital part of your health and safety procedure. Whilst it is hoped that these skills may never be put into use, it is essential and important that first aiders are ready to act in case of either minor injury or emergency. First aid regulations can be complicated, however, and it may be that you aren’t sure if you have the necessary cover in place. This article aims to help you understand how important for your work place to have first aiders, it reduces the risk of legal action taken against your company and also losing any of your employees.
Think about whether you get people visiting your workplace. Whilst current first-aid regulations mean that you don’t need to provide treatment to visitors, if you work in an organisation that has a lot of visitors onsite, then it is advised that you are able to treat them should a situation arise. An example of this would be having staff trained in paediatric first aid if there are a lot of children on site.
High risk workplaces, such as construction sites or maintenance work, require first-aiders who have taken a first aid course that meets the principles of assessment set out by the HSE. However, note that the HSE no longer approve courses themselves. The means of assessment should include a practical assessment and, at the end of the training, workers should gain a certificate in First Aid at Work or Emergency First Aid at Work.
The HSE recommends that if you work in a company with 5-50 workers, there should be at least one person trained in first aid. Another first-aider should be in place for every 50 workers after that.
Accidents can happen, even in low risk organisations with few employees. For low risk workplaces with 25-50 people, there should be at least one first aider who holds an Emergency First Aid at Work certificate, with another first-aider per 100 employees. You may wish to offer all your employees the chance to do a first aid course: this does not need to be a practical based course, but will still offer good basic first aid knowledge.
AB factor offers Workplace First Aid and Paediatric First Aid Training. These courses are suitable for staff members who wish to learn new first aid skills or refresh their existing first aid skills. No previous qualifications are needed to take these courses as all the basic first aid techniques are covered throughout the training. As an undergraduate this training also makes you more employable in organizations when job hunting.
Visit www.abfactorlimited.com or call 08035231424 for more info