Every UK employer has a duty to protect their employees while they are working for them. Being an absolute minimum, employers must have an initial aid box and an appointed person in charge in case of a crisis. Every employer also has the responsibility to provide on-going information to their employees about medical. For most companies however, sending selected employees on first aid training courses proves to be the safest and most responsible approach to first aid in the workplace. An employee that is trained by an approved organization and holds a qualification in medical at work can be an asset to their company and their fellow colleagues.
Depending on size of the company, it's advisable for employers to send many their employees to attend first aid training courses so that there will always be a qualified first-aider readily available should a situation arise. Even small companies with fewer employees should still consider sending a couple of visitors to become qualified first-aiders. Being an employer it is not just a legal obligation to ensure medical is sufficiently catered for, however in extreme circumstances it might mean the difference between life and death.
First aid training can help save lives, which should be enough of a motivation for all employers, whatever the size or nature of these business, to send employees on medical 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 very best first aid courses usually adopt a far more practical and practical approach, focusing on scenario based training methods that are designed to build confidence and offer very real and practical life-saving skills.
High Risk Workplaces
Workplaces where there are more significant safe practices risks are much more likely to need a trained and qualified first-aider. In high risk workplaces, such as building sites for instance, failure to provide first aid in the event of an emergency may result in a tragic outcome. Workers in these circumstances which are injured or taken ill need immediate and adequate medical attention before emergency services arrive, and so these companies have to have trained first-aiders on site constantly.
Low Risk Workplaces
Even workplaces that are considered low risk, such as small offices with fewer employees should consider sending their workers on first aid training courses. Employers have both a moral and legal obligation to implement medical in the workplace, regardless of the size of the business.
Legal duties
If employers neglect 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 handle an assessment, considering workplace hazards, risks and other relevant factors. Due to this assessment, the Regulations require employers to supply 'adequate and appropriate' equipment, facilities and personnel, including sending employees to first aid training courses if deemed appropriate. These Regulations apply to all workplaces including people that have less than five employees (see 'Low Risk Workplaces' above).
The original source stands to reason that the more staff members that employers send on first aid training, the higher their chances will undoubtedly be of handling a first aid emergency if the problem presents itself. Fortunately that when an employer believes they may not have enough trained first-aiders, it's easy enough merely to send more of their employees on a training course. Some employers are reluctant to get this done however, believing that medical courses are costly and time consuming. The truth is though, this is often false; first aid training courses could be completed in less than half of a day or up to three days, depending on the course. This means that 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 satisfaction of knowing that their workers are taken care of and that the business's legal obligations are increasingly being fulfilled.