Every UK employer includes a duty to protect their employees while they are doing work for them. As an absolute minimum, employers should have an initial aid box and an appointed person in charge in case of a crisis. Every employer also has the responsibility to provide on-going information to their employees about medical. For most companies however, sending selected employees on first aid classes proves to function as 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 to their company and their fellow colleagues.
Based on the size of the company, it's advisable for employers to send several their employees to wait first aid training courses so that there will always be a qualified first-aider readily available should a situation arise. Even small companies with fewer employees should still consider sending a couple of people to become qualified first-aiders. As an employer it isn't just a legal obligation to ensure that medical is sufficiently catered for, but in extreme circumstances it could mean the difference between life and death.
First aid training might help save lives, that ought to be enough of an incentive for all employers, regardless of the size or nature of their business, to send employees on first aid training courses. 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 medical courses usually adopt a far more practical and hands on approach, focusing on scenario based training methods that are designed to build confidence and offer very real and practical life-saving skills.
High Risk Workplaces
Workplaces where there are more significant health and safety risks are more likely to need a trained and qualified first-aider. In risky workplaces, such as for example building sites for example, failure to provide first aid in case of an emergency could well create a tragic outcome. Workers in these circumstances which are injured or taken ill need immediate and adequate medical attention before emergency services arrive, therefore these companies have to have trained first-aiders available on site constantly.
Low Risk Workplaces
Even workplaces that are considered low risk, such as small offices with fewer employees should consider sending their workers 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 neglect to implement first aid procedures, they could find themselves running into trouble with the law. The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 requires employers to handle an assessment, considering workplace hazards, risks and other relevant factors. As a result of this assessment, the Regulations require employers to provide 'adequate and appropriate' equipment, facilities and personnel, including sending employees to first aid classes if deemed appropriate. These Regulations apply to all workplaces including those with significantly less than five employees (see 'Low Risk Workplaces' above).
Go to this site stands to reason that the more staff members that employers send on medical training, the higher their chances will undoubtedly be of handling an initial aid emergency if the situation presents itself. Fortunately that when an employer believes they may not have sufficient trained first-aiders, it's easy enough just to send more of their employees on an exercise course. Some employers are reluctant to get this done however, believing that first aid courses are costly and time consuming. In reality though, this is very often not the case; first aid classes could be completed in as little as half of a day or around three days, with respect to the course. This means that employers won't need to spend the large sums of money or lose key members of staff for long periods of time.
Moreover, this means that those employers will have the satisfaction of knowing that their workers are looked after and that the company's legal obligations are increasingly being fulfilled.