First Aid at Work

First aid at work courses provides people with the knowledge and practical competencies to preserve life and minimize the effects of injury and illness during a medical emergency.

First aid provision is generally required up until the point that professional medical help arrives. In non-life-threatening situations, first aid training enables trained employees to provide treatment for minor injuries. Non-life-threatening can be defined as injuries that would otherwise receive no treatment or do not need treatment by a healthcare professional.

First aid for businesses aims to preserve life, prevent worsening, and promote recovery. It enables an employee to assume the first aider's role in the workplace.

The 3-day first aid course has two mandatory units that learners must complete to achieve the qualification.

The first unit is titled 'Emergency First Aid in the Workplace'. It covers the roles and duties of a first aider and how to provide first aid to an unresponsive casualty.

The second unit is 'Recognition and Management of Illness and Injury in the Workplace'. This unit covers first aid treatment for medical emergencies such as those involving spinal injuries, chest injuries, burns, eye injuries and sudden poisoning.

The outcome of successful completion is the employee being trained as a fully qualified workplace first aider.

Unit 1: Emergency First Aid in the Workplace

• Role and responsibilities of a first aider
• Assessing an incident
• First aid for an unresponsive casualty (Includes CPR and the use of an AED)
• First aid for choking
• First aid for external bleeding
• First aid for shock
• First aid for minor injuries

Unit 2: Recognition and Management of:

• Illness and Injury in the Workplace
• Conducting a secondary survey
• First aid for injuries to bones, muscles, and joints
• First aid for head and spinal injuries
• First aid for chest injuries
• First aid for burns and scalds
• First aid for eye injuries
• First aid for sudden poisoning
• First aid for anaphylaxis resulting from allergies
• First aid for major illness

3-day first aid training is assessed via six practical application assessments and two multi-choice theory-based examinations. The practical assessments within unit 1 involve the delegate demonstrating CPR. The CPR practical application is followed by learners demonstrating the safe use of an AED and the recovery position.

Within unit 2, the delegate must demonstrate the administration of first aid in different situations, such as a choking or bleeding casualty. Additionally, it may be a casualty suffering from a suspected fracture or shock. The practical assessments take place at varying intervals during the classroom hours. However, the written examinations occur at the end of days one and three.

A first-aid at work course involves 18 hours of learning and is most commonly delivered by a trainer over three full classroom-based days. Uniquely, Health Matters offer an innovative blended approach to first aid at work, whereby the course is delivered in two classroom-based days. The delegate will complete a first-aid e-learning module before the first classroom day at a pace and at times that suit them and their employer. This approach offers businesses greater working pliancy when compared to traditional classroom-based training.

First aid for businesses is a legal requirement. Every employer must ensure that an adequate provision of first aid cover exists within the workplace. The level will vary. It is based on the level of risk, which is assessed and based on operational processes, staff numbers, layout and scale of work areas and location to sources of medical care such as hospitals or accident and emergency departments. Health Matters offers first aid at work training to businesses across Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales.

Every employer is legally obliged under health and safety law to plan for the provision of first aid at work. This legislative responsibility includes a requirement to provide adequate coverage of trained personnel within the workplace during workable hours. Having workers equipped with the knowledge and the practical competencies to administer first aid during a medical emergency demonstrates that the employer cares. Furthermore, it shows that they are committed to safeguarding the health, safety, and wellbeing of their staff. This commitment can help develop a positive health and safety culture.