FIRST AID COURSES FLEET

LOW RISK

If you are in an office, a shop or a library, you will have your usual staff, but also visiting customers of all ages and with all sorts of potential underlying medical problems, but realistically, the visitors won’t be with you for very long periods of time. Make sure you have these things to
comply with your duties as an employer under the law:

• You should have at least 2 First Aiders who have completed an Emergency First Aid At Work 1-day (EFAW), this will cover you for sick days and holidays

• A first aid kit that is suitable for the number of staff and visitors you have

Larger premises should consider sending a couple of people on a First Aid At Work, which is three days duration and will provide you with 2 Senior First Aiders, again, to provide absence cover. These should be in addition to the 1-day First Aiders (EFAW).

MEDIUM RISK

If you run a restaurant, a hair and/or beauty salon or work in a school, there will be a much higher number of visitors/pupils who will be spending more time with you. These sorts oforganisations have more hazards than an office, shop or library and of course, you will need staff who are competent inpaediatric first aid if you are in a school or nursery.

Schools should have 3-day First Aid At Work (FAW) qualified staff – 2 per area of the school, to cover absences, an adequate number of teachers and teaching assistants and lunch-time supervisors who have completed the 1-day EFAW and all catering staff should have severe allergic reaction training and be able to treat for choke, at the very least.

HIGH RISK

As things get more dangerous, eg light engineering companies, assembly work, food processing, warehousing, organisations that work extensively with dangerous machinery or sharp instruments, construction and chemical manufacture, forestry or tree surgery, you will need more highly qualified first aiders that have completed the 3-day First Aid At Work (FAW) training course. You will also need staff who have attended the 1-day Emergency First Aid At Work (EFAW) to make sure all areas of your organisation are covered.

PLEASE ALSO CONSIDER …

• Special hazards – chainsaws, confined spaces, working from height

• Inexperienced workers

• Disabilities

• Expectant Mothers

• Special health problems eg diabetes, seizures

• The amount of accidents and ill-health on record

• What illnesses and injuries have occurred within your organisation and where

• Employees who travel a lot, work remotely or work alone

• Do any of your employees work shifts or out-of-hours

• Are your premises spread out? Are there several buildings or floors?

• Is your work premises remote from the emergency services?

• Do any employees work at sites shared with other employers? Sometimes, each company assumes the other has first aid provision – you need to communicate

• Absences of qualified/senior first aiders must be covered

• Do members of the public, of all ages, visit your premises, eg places of entertainment, fairgrounds etc