Training - hands on
April 1st 2005 Jon Cunningham, training manager at St. John Ambulance, explains why it is crucial for organisations to adopt comprehensive health and safety practices, why first aid at work needs to be a priority for employers, and why options should be made available in terms of training and the benefits for employees.
Across the country, every year more than 1 000 employees are killed and over 800 000 are injured due to accidents in the workplace. The seriousness of the accidents varies but any accident in the workplace can have significant consequences for employers and sadly prove fatal for an employee.
There are not only moral obligations concerning suitable first aid training in the workplace but legal implications too. The Health and Safety Regulations of 1981 require employers to provide not only adequate and appropriate equipment but also the facilities and personnel to enable first aid to be given to employees if required. These regulations apply to all workplaces; from blue chip companies to small and medium sized businesses which include those with less than five employees and those self employed. With the introduction of corporate manslaughter legislation, the stakes have never being higher for employers.
Construction is an excellent example of an industry which needs to ensure health and safety is taken seriously and first aid at work is an industry-wide priority.
While being one of the UK’s largest industries, providing jobs for nearly 13 million people, it is also one of the most dangerous. More construction workers are killed, injured or suffer ill health than in any other industry.
Like many other industries in the UK, construction has seen a rise in the number of workers for whom English is a second language. In terms of health and safety practices such communication barriers can cause significant challenges in delivering adequate first aid at work training.
Developing first aid training skills which take such issues into account is one of the many factors which must be considered to deliver modern training in the workplace. First aid at work training providers need to anticipate the needs of modern businesses which are constantly evolving across industries from the construction sector to the catering trade.
Providers need to recognise the need for flexible learning, with a greater focus on interactive and practical sessions. By involving participants through tools such as scenario setting cards and practical assessments, training adopts a universal language and provides memorable examples for attendees to follow.
Of course first aid at work courses can also be motivational for employees. Skills acquired on first aid training courses are transferable across industries and are not limited to application in a working environment.
Indeed, they can be used outside work in any employee’s personal life.
We heard that Kevin Warriner and Steve Scott from Yorkshire-based KAM Security found a young lady lying on a pavement not breathing. They immediately put their skills learnt from a St. John Ambulance training course into action. The two men resuscitated the lady and kept her safe until paramedics arrived. Following the incident Warriner said: “I would urge as many people as possible to take a first aid course. The training I undertook proves that first aid at work training can be a vital skill in both our work and personal lives.”
Whatever the industry, modern first aid at work training techniques are a necessity, not an option, for both employers and employees. Failure to acknowledge this has many serious consequences. Organisations in the vanguard of staff development will also appreciate the motivational aspects of 21st Century first aid at work training. More articles from St John Ambulance: | 
