First Aid Training Courses
Making the correct decisions when faced with an accident or emergency situation can be the difference between life and death. In the UK, up to 150,000 people die a year in circumstances where first aid could have helped, and as such, first aid training and emergency care is vital to learn for healthcare workers and civilians alike.
The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations were passed in 1981 and state that it is a legal requirement for employers to have as many trained emergency first aiders as is appropriate, depending on the nature of the workplace and the potential hazards involved. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends that employers have at least one person trained in first aid, however, so that there are always appointed persons on hand who can be relied on to deliver first aid in emergency situations should they arise. Healthcare workers moreover are required to have these anyway; they are expected to undergo basic life support training and need to understand the principles of essential emergency care, being able to carry out simple but often important emergency procedures such as CPR. All health workers are required to understand the basics of emergency care, life support, and CPR, under standards 12 and 13 of the Care Certificate.
Other useful procedures that are covered by a first aid training course include dealing with minor injuries, cases of shock, external bleeding as well as choking. These can all be learned through the use of internet resources - eLearning courses can provide certified basic first aid training online - and offer a rudimentary and handy command of how to respond appropriately, coolly and logically to an emergency situation. Even if the accident or injury seems to be above your remit, the principles of training should better equip you to make decisions than had you not had any training whatsoever. Blended and eLearning are accepted methods for delivery of first aid training, providing criteria outlined by the HSE is adhered to, especially sufficient time being allocated to classroom-based learning and assessment of the practical elements of the emergency first aid syllabus.
The importance of first aid training in the UK
In social care there are few more important skills than first aid, which can include basic life support but with a range of potentially lifesaving skills; it could be administering an automated external defibrillation (AED) or simply taking out a risk assessment, both have the ability to improve the safety of a vulnerable or elderly person. Regulated providers of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) can help to ensure that they comply with fundamental standards of quality and safety by giving all of their staff as much of the relevant skills as possible. Whereas in the past it might have been more costly to arrange, pay and take time off for courses, blended and bespoke on-site first aid training allows this to be done without signifcantly impacting on the working day. Employers should be assessing what the appropriate standard of first aid expertise is, and then making sure that their staff are appropriately trained — for workplaces with more risks to health and safety, several people trained in emergency first aid may be a legal requirement.
Find quality training today
Whatever your needs are - whether you are a healthcare professional, concerned civilian or even a parent - the first few minutes of an emergency or accident are vital. It takes a blocked airway 3-4 minutes to kill someone, while it can take an ambulance over 8 minutes to arrive, so having emergency paediatric first aid training should be a must for parents and carers. Search for training below, or browse related training in moving and handling, first aid at work courses, fire marshal and automated external defribillation (AED) training.
