Every UK employer includes a duty to protect their employees while they are working for them. Being an absolute minimum, employers must have a first aid box and an appointed person in control in case of an emergency. Every employer also has the responsibility to provide on-going information to their employees about first aid. For some companies however, sending selected employees on medical training courses proves to be the safest & most responsible approach to first aid in the workplace. A worker that has been trained by an approved organization and holds a qualification in first aid at work is an asset to their company and their fellow colleagues.
According to the size of the business, it's advisable for employers to send numerous their employees to wait first aid classes so that there will be a qualified first-aider on hand should a situation arise. Even small companies with fewer employees should still consider sending one or two people to become qualified first-aiders. As an employer it is not only a legal obligation to make certain first aid is sufficiently catered for, but in extreme circumstances it could mean the difference between life and death.
First aid training can help save lives, that ought to be enough of a motivation for all employers, regardless of the size or nature of these business, to send employees on medical classes. These courses could be conducted either on or off site and vary long from half day refresher sessions to intensive three day courses. The very best first aid courses usually adopt a more practical and practical approach, concentrating on scenario based training methods that are designed to build confidence and provide very real and practical life-saving skills.
First Aid Courses Blackburn where you can find more significant health and safety risks are more likely to need a trained and qualified first-aider. In risky workplaces, such as building sites for example, failure to provide medical in the event of an emergency could well result in a tragic outcome. Workers in these situations which are injured or taken ill need immediate and adequate medical assistance before emergency services arrive, therefore these companies have to have trained first-aiders on site always.
Low Risk Workplaces
Even workplaces which are considered low risk, such as for example small offices with fewer employees should consider sending their employees on first aid training courses. Employers have both a moral and legal obligation to implement first aid in the workplace, whatever the size of the company.
Legal duties
If employers fail to implement medical procedures, they could end up running into trouble with the law. The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 requires employers to carry out an assessment, considering workplace hazards, risks along with other relevant factors. Because of this assessment, the Regulations require employers to provide 'adequate and appropriate' equipment, facilities and personnel, including sending employees to medical classes if deemed appropriate. These Regulations connect with all workplaces including those with significantly less than five employees (see 'Low Risk Workplaces' above).
Multiple First Aiders
It stands to reason that the more staff members that employers send on first aid training, the better their chances will be of handling an initial aid emergency if the situation presents itself. The good news is that when an employer believes they may not have enough trained first-aiders, it's easy enough just to send more of these employees on a training course. Some employers are reluctant to get this done however, believing that medical courses are expensive and time consuming. In reality though, this is often not the case; first aid training courses could be completed in as little as half of a day or up to three days, with respect to the course. This means that employers won't have to part with large sums of money or lose key members of staff for long periods of time.
Moreover, it means that those employers will have the peace of mind of knowing that their workers are looked after and that the business's legal obligations are being fulfilled.