Every UK employer has a duty to protect their workers while they are working for them. As an absolute minimum, employers should have an initial aid box and an appointed person in control in case of a crisis. Every employer also offers the responsibility to provide on-going information with their employees about medical. For most companies however, sending selected employees on medical classes proves to be the safest and most responsible approach to first aid in the workplace. An employee that is trained by an approved organization and holds a qualification in first aid at work is an asset with their company and their fellow colleagues.

Based on the size of the company, it’s advisable for employers to send a number of their employees to wait first aid training courses so that there will be a qualified first-aider readily available should a predicament arise. Even small companies with fewer employees should still consider sending one or two people to become qualified first-aiders. Being an employer it isn’t only a legal obligation to ensure that medical is sufficiently catered for, however 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 an incentive for all employers, whatever the size or nature of these business, to send employees on medical training courses. These courses could be conducted either on or off site and vary in length from half day refresher sessions to intensive three day courses. The very best medical courses usually adopt a more practical and hands on approach, concentrating on scenario based training methods that are designed to build confidence and provide very real and practical life-saving skills.

High Risk Workplaces

Workplaces where there are more significant safe practices risks are much more likely to need a trained and qualified first-aider. In risky workplaces, such as for example building sites for example, failure to provide medical in the event of an emergency may create a tragic outcome. Workers in these circumstances which are injured or taken ill need immediate and adequate medical assistance until the emergency services arrive, and so these companies need to have trained first-aiders available on site constantly.

Low Risk Workplaces

Even workplaces which are considered low risk, such as for example small offices with fewer employees should consider sending their workers on first aid classes. Employers have both a moral and legal obligation to implement first aid in the workplace, regardless of the size of the business.

Legal duties

If employers fail to implement first aid 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. Great site to this assessment, the Regulations require employers to supply ‘adequate and appropriate’ equipment, facilities and personnel, including sending employees to medical training courses if deemed appropriate. These Regulations connect with all workplaces including people that have significantly less than five employees (see ‘Low Risk Workplaces’ above).

Multiple First Aiders

It stands to reason that the more workers that employers send on medical training, the higher their chances will be of handling an initial aid emergency if the situation presents itself. The good news is that if an employer believes that they may not have enough trained first-aiders, it’s easy enough merely to send more of their employees on an exercise course. Some employers are reluctant to do this however, believing that first aid courses are expensive and time consuming. The truth is though, this is very often false; first aid classes can be completed in less than half of a day or up to three days, according to the course. Which means that employers won’t have to spend the large sums of money or lose key members of staff for long periods of time.

Moreover, this means that those employers could have the peace of mind of knowing that their workers are taken care of and that the business’s legal obligations are increasingly being fulfilled.