First Aid at Work training
October 1st 2009 The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is making changes to the first aid at work (FAW) training regime to make it more flexible for businesses.
From the first of October 09 the mandatory four-day FAW training courses were reduced to three days and there is now an option for a one day course for smaller businesses. All FAW qualified first aiders will still have to attend a two-day requalification course every three years.
The changes have been made following feedback from businesses across Great Britain. Employers were said to recognise the need for first aid training but were concerned about releasing employees for four days training.
Dr Dil Sen, HSE Principal Medical Inspector said: “First aid can help to save lives and prevent minor injuries becoming major ones. The revised guidance will help employers to get first aid training that suits their business needs and saves them both time and money.” It is estimated that GB businesses will save £52 million in the first year of the new training regime being available.
There are at least 750,000 FAW qualified first aiders in Great Britain and it is estimated that 100,000 new first aiders are trained each year in FAW.
The new guidance also suggests that refresher training taken annually would be beneficial to first aiders and their employers, with staff feeling better placed to deal with an incident in their workplace. The new guidance is available at: www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid More articles from Health and Safety Executive: | 
