Training

• First aid at work
• Special requirements for offshore work
• Special requirements for diving

First aid at work

The Law

The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require employers to provide suitable first-aid equipment, facilities and personnel to enable immediate assistance to be given to employees if they are injured or become ill at work. Regulation 3(2) states that in order to provide first aid to injured or ill employees, ‘…a person shall not be suitable unless he has undergone –

1. such training and has such qualifications as the Health and Safety Executive may approve for the time being in respect of that case or class of case, and
   
2. such additional training, if any, as may be appropriate in the circumstances of that case’

Detailed information can be found in First aid at work. The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.

Training courses

If you have identified that first-aiders are needed in your workplace, they must have a valid certificate of competence in FAW or emergency first aid at work (EFAW). EFAW training enables a first-aider to give emergency first aid to someone who is injured or becomes ill while at work. FAW training includes EFAW and also equips the first-aider to apply first aid to a range of specific injuries and illnesses. The findings of the first-aid needs assessment can help you decide whether your first-aiders should be trained in FAW or EFAW. As a guide, the table in First aid at work: your questions answered suggests what first-aid personnel to provide under different circumstances.

FAW courses involve at least 18 hours of training and are run over a minimum of three days. Training organisations offering the course need to be approved by HSE for this purpose. EFAW lasts for at least six hours of training and is run over a minimum of one day. It can be offered by training organisations approved by HSE or recognised awarding bodies of Ofqual/Scottish Qualifications Authority applying a training standard set by HSE for the delivery of EFAW.

Lists of suitable training providers and awarding bodies are available from HSE’s Infoline.

FAW and EFAW certificates last for three years. Before their certificates expire, first-aiders will need to undertake an FAW requalification course or an EFAW course, as appropriate, to obtain another three-year certificate.

HSE strongly recommends that first-aiders undertake annual refresher training, over half a day, during any three-year FAW/EFAW certification period. Although not mandatory, this will help qualified first-aiders maintain their basic skills and keep up to date with any changes to first-aid procedures. The training organisations referred to above can run annual refresher courses.

Overseas certificates

FAW/EFAW certificates are only valid for regulatory purposes if they have been issued for training carried out in Great Britain. If a certificate has been issued for FAW/EFAW training conducted in another country, the certificate will not be valid in Great Britain.

Approval of first-aid training organisations

HSE does not run training courses but does approve training organisations that meet the required standard for FAW training. This work is conducted by the First Aid Approval and Monitoring Section (FAAMS) of HSE’s Corporate Medical Unit.

New training providers that wish to start running FAW courses need to apply to FAAMS for approval. Applicants need to complete an Original Approval Questionnaire. Applicants will also have to read and fulfil the requirements of the associated guidance First-aid training and qualifications for the purposes of the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981: A guide for training organisations.

Gaining HSE’s approval allows training providers to run FAW and EFAW courses. The approval does not extend to other types of first-aid training.

Training organisations wishing to run EFAW courses only, not FAW, should apply for approval to an appropriate awarding body eligible to award an accredited qualification in EFAW using a training standard set by HSE.

Fees

Under the Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations, HSE charges fees, which are reviewed each year, for the various elements of the approval and monitoring process. The fees for 2009/10 are:

New FAW approval	£1512
Post approval monitoring visit	£  567
Renewal of Certificate of Approval	£  106

HSE logo

HSE’s logo is a registered Trade Mark under the Trade Marks Act 1994. Its misuse constitutes a criminal offence. HSE-approved training organisations should not use it on any material, including certificates or on a website if there is one.

Special requirements for offshore work

The training objectives for offshore medics and first-aiders are set out in Health care and first aid on offshore installations and pipeline works L123. This also provides guidance on the roles and responsibilities of offshore medics and first-aiders and the types of secondary roles that are suitable.

New training providers that wish to start running offshore first aid and/or offshore medic courses need to apply for approval to the First Aid Approval and Monitoring Section (FAAMS) of HSE’s Corporate Medical Unit.  Applicants need to complete an Original Approval Questionnaire as well as read and fulfil the requirements of the associated guidance.  These documents can be found via the links below:

• Offshore first aid: Original Approval Questionnaire
• Guidance on offshore first aid training and qualifications
  
  
• Offshore medic: Original Approval Questionnaire
• Guidance on offshore medic training and qualifications

Special requirements for diving

HSE’s web pages on diving include information on first-aid training for divers.

Details of diver medic courses are available from the International Marine Contractors Association.