First Aid Regulation Changes
As of 31 October 2017 the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1982 were amended to remove the requirement for HSENI to approve first aid at work training and qualifications. These new arrangements brought HSENI into line with procedures implemented by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in Great Britain.
HSENI adopted HSE's guidance which is available on the HSE first aid webpages.
Defibrillator Training in First Aid at Work Courses
As of 1 January 2017, St John Ambulance (NI) provides delegates that attend our First aid at work (FAW), First aid at work requalification (RFAW) and Emergency First aid at work (EFAW) courses with basic defibrillator training. Delegates are:
- taught the basic step-by-step prompts given by defibrillators and how to respond
- taught how to place defibrillator pads on a casualty
Please note that specialist Defibrillator (AED) training courses are still available both as scheduled and on-site courses.
St John Ambulance (NI) recommends that all workplaces are equipped with life saving defibrillators and that the wider workforce, in addition to the designated first aider, are trained in its use to ensure a casualty who is unresponsive and not breathing receives fast treatment if required.
The St John Ambulance (NI) defibrillator training course gives delegates the confidence to act quickly and effectively in an emergency.
Workplace First Aid Regulation Changes
The changes to First aid at work regulations that came into force 31 October 2017 remove the requirement for the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI) to approve first aid training providers.
The removal of the HSENI approval process gives businesses greater flexibility to choose their own training providers and first aid training that is right for their workplace, based on their needs assessment and their individual business needs.
What does this mean for our customers?
St John Ambulance (NI) delivers top quality workplace first aid training with the most up to date clinical practice. So if you're working with us to train your first aiders, you can be sure that you're getting the right training to meet your legal obligations, both before the changes and now that the new regulations have been implemented.
Identify Your First Aid Needs
Under the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance, when assessing workplace first aid training and supplies needs employers should consider a great number of factors.
What should I consider as part of my first aid needs review?
The HSE's guidance for workplace first aid provision asks employers to consider the following when assessing first aid needs:
- The nature of the work and hazards and/or risks
- The number of people employed at the site
- The number of inexperienced workers
- Employees with disabilities or particular health problems
- Employees with the characteristics of groups at higher risk from health conditions
- Previous accidents or records of ill health
- Recurring injuries or illnesses
- Employees who travel a lot, work remotely or alone
- Employee shift patterns or out of hours work
- The layout of the workplace (e.g. are the premises spread over a large area or split over several floors?)
- The proximity of the workplace to emergency services
- First aider absences (e.g. through sickness or annual leave) and provision of cover
- Access to your site by non-employees (e.g. visiting members of the public).
What evidence sources are useful in performing a first aid needs assessment?
There are many evidence sources that can help you to carry out a thorough first aid needs assessment. Some useful sources are as follows:
- Accident report book
- Work manuals and standard operating procedures
- Control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH) notices
- Crude indicators (such as the age profile of your employees)
- Work or shift patterns
- Absence records
- Ambulance response times
- Distance to nearest medical help
- Holiday patterns.
How often should I review my first aid needs?
It is important that a regular review of your first aid needs is an integral part of your main risk assessment under Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations (NI) 1982 and Health and Safety (First-Aid) (Amendment) Regulations (NI) 2017. A first aid assessment every 12 months is an essential part of your duty of care for staff in the workplace. In addition, you should also review your first aid needs assessment if any of the following occurs:
- An accident at work or an illness caused by work
- Changes in work patterns or processes
- Changes in personnel
- Changes to the workplace (e.g. a move to a different site or changes to equipment)
Choosing a First Aid Training Provider
Due diligence: The importance of choosing the right first aid training provider.
The regulation changes allow employers greater freedom in choosing a training provider and qualifications to meet their identified first aid needs. Employers must be satisfied that their training provider is competent in first aid and has the necessary quality assurance processes in place. The HSE acknowledges that St John Ambulance works to similar principles of assessment and employs a similar hierarchy of policies and processes to awarding organisations who offer regulated qualifications.
What should due diligence of a training provider include?
1. Trainers and assessors
When undertaking due diligence of a training provider, there are several things to check:
| HSE requirement | Does St John Ambulance (NI) meet this requirement? |
|---|---|
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Do the trainers and assessors have a current First aid at work certificate or qualify for an exemption? |
Yes. All our first aid trainers are First aid at work qualified or qualify for an exemption. |
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Do the trainers have an appropriate training qualification? |
Yes. All our trainers are qualified in a minimum of a level 3 recognised training qualification. |
|
Do the assessors have an appropriate assessing qualification? |
Yes. St John Ambulance (NI) assessors are qualified in a minimum of a level 3 recognised assessing qualification. |
2. Quality assurance
| HSE requirement | Does St John Ambulance (NI) meet this requirement? |
|---|---|
|
Does the training provider have a documented quality assurance plan designating an individual to take responsibility for quality assurance and including at least annual assessment of the performance of trainers and assessors? |
Yes. St John Ambulance (NI) has a stringent and robust quality assurance process documented and in place. |
|
Does the designated quality assurance person have a current First aid at work certificate or qualify for an exemption? |
Yes. Our Quality Assurance personnel are all First aid at work qualified. |
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Does the designated person have an assessing/verifying qualification? |
Yes. Our Quality Assurance personnel are qualified in a level 4 recognised quality assurance qualification. |
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Is there a documented course evaluation procedure? |
Yes. A rigorous procedure is documented and available on request. |
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Is there a documented complaints procedure? |
Yes. We take complaints very seriously. Our procedure is available for all customers to see. |
3. Teaching currently accepted first aid practice
| HSE requirement | Does St John Ambulance (NI) meet this requirement? |
|---|---|
|
Is First aid at work or Emergency first aid at work taught in accordance with current guidelines published by the Resuscitation Council (UK), and for other aspects of first aid, in accordance with current guidelines published by the Voluntary Aid Societies (e.g. St John Ambulance) or other published guidelines that are supported by a responsible body of medical opinion? |
Yes. The HSE recognises that St John Ambulance along with our fellow voluntary aid societies are the standard setters for workplace first aid protocols which we publish in the First Aid Manual. |
4. Training syllabus
| HSE requirement | Does St John Ambulance (NI) meet this requirement? |
|---|---|
|
Does the course content adequately meet the needs of your workplace, as indicated by your first aid needs assessment? |
Yes. We will work with you, as required, to ensure that the training we provide meets all your identified first aid needs. |
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For the First aid at work course, does the syllabus include all the required topics set by the HSE and does the course last at least 18 training and assessment contact hours, over three days? |
Yes. Details of our First aid at work course are here. |
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For the First aid at work requalification course, does the syllabus include all the required topics set by the HSE and does the course last at least 12 training and assessment contact hours, over two days? |
Yes. Details of our First aid at work requalification course are here. |
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For the Emergency first aid at work course, does the syllabus include all the required topics set by the HSE and does the course last at least six training and assessment contact hours, over one day? |
Yes. Details of our Emergency first aid at work course are here. |
5. Certificates
| HSE requirement | Does St John Ambulance (NI) meet this requirement? |
|---|---|
|
Do the certificates issued to students assessed as competent include:
If training is neither First aid at work or Emergency first aid at work, the certificate should also list the learning outcomes of the syllabus on which candidates have been assessed. |
Yes. Our certificates meet all the requirements as set by the HSE guidance to the regulations. On First aid at work and Emergency first aid at work the St John Ambulance (NI) certificate wording is as per the HSENI legislation website: 'The Health and Safety (First-Aid) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017'. |
Training with St John Ambulance will always meet the required standards
If you're training with St John Ambulance, then you're in safe hands. We are the UK's leading first aid organisation and teach more people from more businesses and organisations than any other provider. Our training services will always meet the standards you need to satisfy your legal requirements for first aid provision.