Changes to First Aid at Work Training - October 2009

You may or may not know that the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) are to introduce some major changes to the First Aid at Work Regulations on 1st October 2009.

After 1st October 2009 there will be the following HSE approved courses:

• Emergency First Aid (EFAW, 6 hours). This is comparable to the 1 day Appointed Persons course. The crucial difference will be that students that have completed this course will be classed as First Aiders in the workplace and will hold a HSE approved Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) certificate as opposed to the previous Appointed Persons certificate.
• First Aid at Work (FAW, 3 days). This course directly replaces the old 4 day FAW. The content of the course will be similar to the existing 4 day FAW but some older First Aid practices will be omitted from the topic list to comply with the new time scale. There will still be an independent assessment at the end of the course.
• First Aid at Work Re-qualifier (REQ, 2 days). This course will be the same as the existing course but with a revised topic list.
• Basic Skills Update or Refresher (3 hours). The HSE will also be strongly recommending as good practice that First Aiders undertake a 3 hour basic skills update once a year. The content of this course will include any updates or changes to first aid procedures that may have occurred since the students took their courses.
• Appointed Persons The HSE do not approve courses for Appointed Persons. Should your risk assessment show that you only need Appointed Persons, the HSE suggest that although Appointed persons do not need First Aid training to fulfil their role, some kind of Basic Emergency knowledge and skills is advised. The HSE go further by suggesting that rather than appointing untrained persons to take care of casualties in an emergency, First Aiders should be provided.
• The EFAW 1 day course is then appropriate. Should you choose to provide only Appointed Persons, Emergency Aid for Appointed Person courses can be provided (4 hour).
• Risk Assessment Here is a brief summary of the HSE requirements of first aiders in workplaces. This may help you decide what level of training you will need after 1st October 2009. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Low Hazards	Higher Hazards
Less than 50 employees = Appointed Person	Less than 5 employees = Appointed Person
50 to 100 employees = Emergency First Aider	5 to 100 employees = Emergency or Full First Aider
100+ employees = First Aiders at the ratio1:50	100+ employees = First Aiders at the ratio 1:50

Here is an overview of the layout of First Aid Training at Work: