First Aid Changes - 12/11/2009

First Aid Regulations have changed - were you ready?

First aid cover in the workplace is a legal requirement. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have been reviewing the current regulations and a new set of regulations came into force on 1 October 2009.

The 5 things you need to know

• The First Aid at work course have now been shortened to three days.

• A new one day Emergency First Aid at work course has been created which covers the most common risks and is available for lower risk environments. The syllabus for this course has been specified by the HSE and can only be taught by HSE approved providers.

• A 3-hour annual refresher course has been specified by the HSE as it is now strongly recommended that this course is completed annually between requalification to keep first aid skills fresh.

• All Current first aiders need to do NOTHING as all current first aid at work certificates are valid until they expire.

• A new risk assessment may be required The HSE is updating the rules about the number of first aiders needed in a workplace. It is expected that the HSE will reduce the categories of risk to two: low and high.

Call RANA now, your HSE approved provider, for a competitive quote and more information including a Risk Assessment to determine your first aid requirements.