Every UK employer has a duty to protect their employees while they are doing work for them. As an absolute minimum, employers must have an initial aid box and an appointed person in charge in case of an emergency. Every employer also offers the responsibility to provide on-going information with their employees about medical. For some companies however, sending selected employees on medical training courses proves to function as safest and most responsible approach to medical in the workplace. An employee that is trained by an approved organization and holds a qualification in medical at work is an asset with their company and their fellow colleagues.
Depending on the size of the company, it's advisable for employers to send a number of their employees to attend first aid training courses 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 visitors to become qualified first-aiders. As an employer it isn't only a legal obligation to ensure that first aid is sufficiently catered for, however in extreme circumstances it might mean the difference between life and death.
First aid training might help save lives, that ought to be enough of a motivation for all employers, whatever the size or nature of these business, to send employees on first aid 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 best first aid courses usually adopt a far 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.
High Risk Workplaces
Workplaces where there are more significant health and safety risks are more likely to require a trained and qualified first-aider. In high risk workplaces, such as building sites for instance, failure to provide medical in the event of an emergency may create a tragic outcome. Workers in these situations which are injured or taken ill need immediate and adequate medical attention until the emergency services arrive, and so these companies need to have trained first-aiders on site all the time.
Low Risk Workplaces
Even workplaces that are considered low risk, such as small offices with fewer employees should think about 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 fail to implement first aid procedures, they could end up running into trouble with regulations. The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 requires employers to carry out an assessment, considering workplace hazards, risks along with other relevant factors. Due to this assessment, the Regulations require employers to provide '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 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 undoubtedly 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 first aid courses are costly and time consuming. In Check out this site though, this is very often false; first aid classes can be completed in less than half a day or around three days, depending on the course. Therefore employers won't need to part with large sums of money or lose key members of staff for long periods of time.
Moreover, this means that those employers will have the peace of mind of knowing that their workers are looked after and that the company's legal obligations are increasingly being fulfilled.