Health and Safety Update (July 2009)

Changes coming for first aid

The Health and Safety (at Work) Regulations 1981 (FAW) have been operational now for more than 25 years.

When the regulations came into force the UK was still predominantly a manufacturing-based economy. Hence, the Regulations, along with the accompanying Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) and guidance were written to reflect the needs at that time.

Since then, the emphasis has moved away from manufacturing towards a more service-based economy, with a heavier weighting of small and medium-sized enterprises than previously existed.

In addition to these changes in industry and the workplace, an HSE report identified a number of key aspects for consideration:

• The difficulty of smaller organisations to release employees to attend a four-day first-aid at work course – not so much from a cost aspect but from the loss of employee work days;
• A level of confusion about the role and training requirements of an appointed person. Some organisations use their appointed person as a first-aider after they have attended just a one-day training course;
• Both training providers and first-aiders highlighted refresher training as an important issue to minimise loss of skills.

Major changes
The major change to the guidelines is in the first-aid training requirements. Currently, to comply with the FAW regulations a workplace must have an appointed person, or a first-aider (or multiples there of). The training course for a first-aider is four days in duration and must be approved by the HSE, while the training for an appointed person is generally one day and is not regulated.
The new training guidelines will introduce the following:

• a new first-aid course – Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW), which will last one day and enable a first-aider to give emergency first aid to someone who is injured, or becomes ill at work;
• a reduced minimum training requirement of three days for the First Aid at Work (FAW) course. FAW covers all that EFAW does, as well as how to deal with a range of specific illnesses or injuries;
• a strong recommendation by the HSE that first-aiders undertake annual refresher training of half a day during the FAW/EFAW three-year certification period.

As with the FAW course, the EFAW course will be delivered by an HSE-approved organisation.

It is important to stress that, despite these changes to the guidelines, the Approved Code of Practice and Regulations will not change – nor will the minimum requirement for organisations to select an appointed person. The new guidelines will come into force on 1 October 2009. Employers should note that any FAW certificates current at that time will remain valid until their expiry date.

The guidance for employers on the changes to first-aid training will be published in an updated version of L74 First Aid at Work: Approved Code of Practice, which is due to become available in October. One of the key proposed changes to the document is the replacement of a table of the suggested numbers of first-aid personnel with a flow chart aimed at assisting employers in deciding what their requirements are in terms of first-aid provision. The flow chart should help employers take account of all the factors that affect first-aid needs, such as shift workers, previous accidents, special hazards, and so forth, in a bid to ensure that first-aid provision is both adequate and relevant.

Summary
Employers and employees alike are set to benefit through more appropriate training guidelines designed with the needs of modern businesses in mind. A reduced burden on employers through more training options and shorter courses, alongside annual refresher training, should see the provision of first aid in the workplace become more appropriate and up to date.