According to the Health and Safety Act of 1981, employers must provide adequate and appropriate first aid equipment, facilities and training to employees so that they can be immediately helped if they are injured while on the job. The specifics of these arrangements will depend on the particular circumstances of your workplace and your own first aid needs.
Minimum Requirements
The very minimum requirements for this is that there is an appropriately stocked first aid box on the worksite, an appointed person who is responsible for applying first aid and information available for employees regarding first aid arrangements. This needs to be available for all employees at all times when working on the site. In order for this appointed person in your workplace to be able to administer first aid, they need to have undertaken training with the appropriate first aid course qualification. This could be the First Aid at Work course (FAW), the Emergency First Aid at Work Course (EFAW) or another recognised training qualification.
Who Needs to Receive First Aid Training?
Your workplace will need to have an appropriate number of employees trained with these qualifications on site at all times, according to the numbers and circumstances of your workplace. The number of trained first aiders that you need in the workplace depends on your assessment of first aid needs, taking into consideration things such as the industry sector you work in, the previous history of accidents and the number of employees you have.
In certain circumstances, such as work sites that involve several buildings or shift work – you might need to have more first aid personnel. It is essential to ensure that supervisors or employees who have first aid training are scheduled appropriately. There should always be a minimum amount of people on duty to provide first aid in an emergency, as it is no good having qualified first aid personnel if they are all at home when a disaster strikes.
If you have employees who work alone, who travel or who work in remote areas, you should consider providing them with first aid training as well. They should also be provided with a personal first aid box as well as a means of calling for help – such as a mobile phone.
Training Can Prevent Tragedy
Of course, even if you have the minimum required amount of employees trained in health and safety first aid, you might want to have even more of your employees qualified. Perhaps there might be a situation where the appointed first aid representative is incapacitated and someone else needs to take over. In this situation, the more trained first aiders you have on your workforce, the safer everyone will be and the higher the chances of survival.
First aid courses will help your employees know what to do in an emergency situation and it might potentially help them to save the life of their co-workers. To find out more about how you can find a first aid course, contact us today.