The changes proposed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will see the biggest overhaul of first aid in the workplace for 25 years and employers who don’t prepare could face fines or, worse, risk the welfare of employees.
First aid cover in the workplace is a legal requirement. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have been reviewing the current regulations and a new set of regulations will come into force on 1 October 2009. The changes to training for first aiders in the workplace was announced by the HSE in April and reflect the way first aid protocols have changed over the last 25 years. New risk categories will be published on 1 October 2009.
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The changes will put the subject of health and safety in the spotlight and provides an excellent opportunity to remind businesses that the safety of their employees must been seen as a priority.
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KEY CHANGES:
- The First aid at work course will be shortened to 3 days from 1 October 2009.
- A new 1-day Emergency first aid at work course has been created which covers the most common risks. The syllabus for this course has been specified by the HSE and can only be taught by HSE approved providers of the First aid at work course or Ofqual (QCA) registered providers.
- A 3-hour annual refresher course has been specified by the HSE. It is now strongly recommend that this course is completed annually between requalification to keep first aid skills fresh.
- Current First Aiders - current first aid at work certificates are valid until they expire.
- The HSE is updating the rules about the number of first aiders needed in a workplace. It is expected that the HSE will reduce the categories of risk to two: low and high.
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WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO:
- Ensure all training completed (after 01/10/2009) is by a provider approved by the HSE.
- We recommend that you plan in the half day of additional training per year for all your first aiders to ensure that their skills remain fresh.
- You'll need to ensure that current first aiders requalify when their certificate expires (whether that's before or after 1 October 2009).
- When the HSE announce the new rules, you'll need to complete a new risk assessment to determine the number of first aiders you need. Until then, you still need to have the right number of first aiders according to current legislation
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