Changes to First Aid Regulations:
The Health & Safety Executive have announced changes to first aid provision for workers and the workplace. These changes were effective from 1st October 2009; they are the first major amendments since 1981.
The main changes were:
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Revised risk assessment guidelines to determine your first aid provision
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Many organisations may need qualified first aiders where they employ five staff or more
- A new approved 1-day course
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The 4-day First Aid at Work initial course is reduced to 3 days
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A new half-day annual refresher has been introduced
Risk Assessment
New risk assessment recommendations will be published by the HSE on 1st October 2009. The current proposals can be viewed in full on the HSE website: www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/review/jul08update.htm (employers).
Only two categories of Establishment (or Activity type) are now proposed for assessing risk levels in the workplace, instead of the present three (Medium Risk has been eliminated from the table).
Lower Hazard Environments
Offices, shops, and libraries are examples. The number of staff employed before a qualified first aider may be needed is proposed to be increased to 50. The HSE recognises that in shops or offices the risk of serious injury is low; however sudden illness or the likelihood of an accident cannot be eliminated.
Consequently they recommend that all organisations should provide Basic Emergency Life Support for their staff, even if their risk assessment determines that qualified first aiders are not required.
Higher Hazard Environments
This category now includes light engineering, food processing, and warehousing. If you have five or more staff (includes part-time), the guidelines indicate a fully qualified first aider is required. Depending upon the severity of any injury which is likely to occur, you should decide if staff need training on a 1-day or a 3-day statutory course.
Please note that these proposals may be subject to change and the information provided is based on the current draft guidelines. The HSE explain that there can only be one set of guidelines published at any one time.
The HSE strongly recommend that first aid provision should be considered for all those present in a workplace, not just for your employees but visitors as well.
1-Day Emergency First Aid in the Workplace Course (EFAW)
This course will be introduced from 1st October 2009.
If the proposed risk assessment guidelines are adopted, this course may be suitable where a first aider trained on the 3-day course is not deemed necessary.
The EFAW is a statutory course; all training providers must be registered to deliver the training and monitored on a range of quality criteria. This is not the case for the current 1-day training course.
Certification lasts for three years.
3-Day First Aid at Work Initial Course (FAW)
This change reduces the burden on employers having to release staff for extended periods for training. The course content is similar to the 4-day course, but recent simplification to some protocols means that less time is required to teach the skills.
Annual Refresher Training
The HSE has identified that a substantial skills fade can take place over the three year certification period. It is a strong recommendation by the HSE that an Annual Refresher (3 hours) should be taken by EFAW or FAAW certificate holders 12 and 24 months after certification. Full re-qualification must be achieved in the third year.
Organisations are not obliged to send first aiders on annual refreshers, but if their first aiders do not operate in an ‘Effective, Safe and Prompt’ manner in a medical emergency they risk further investigation, possible exposure to civil claims, and may even compromise their insurance cover.