Various Levels of First Aid Training

It is extremely essential for a workplace to provide access to first aid equipment, resources and facilities, including sufficient number of workers trained to apply first aid. The person in charge of an undertaking or business is responsible to make arrangements for first aid training. The code of practicing first aid in a workplace includes responsibilities like first aid kits, procedures, first aid training, types of first aide trainees, and so on.

Various Kinds of Training of First Aid

General Training: Hands-on skills are developed in trainees by using manikins and training associates. They are exposed to acute illness and injury settings, and training is given to respond to such settings by using visual aids, like slides and video tapes. The duration of the course is such that it will provide enough time to trainees to become able to handle situations most likely to be experienced in specific workplaces.

Primary First Aid: The training unit for basic first aid offers competencies needed to identify and react to routine life-threatening illnesses or wounds. This includes offering life-support making use of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and handling the incident and casualty till the arrival of medical help. In workplaces with a low risk, trainees must be adequately trained to conduct CPR and treat small injuries and illnesses, like bandaging head, shoulder, chest, arm, wrist, leg, foot, fingers, ankle, toes and knee, splitting the arm, fingers, clavicle, elbow, hand, ribs, femur, hip, lower leg, knee, ankle, foot and toes, and shifting and rescuing victims using 1- or 2-person lifts, shoulder and ankle pulls and blanket pull.

Advanced First Aid: Training of advanced first aid provides extra competencies needed to identify and react to incidents taking place in high risk work environments.

Occupational First Aid: This type of training too offers competencies needed to administer advanced first aid and manage a first aid room.

First Aid in Remote Places: Training for first aid in remote places provides competencies needed to apply first aid to remote and/or lonely places, like getting ready for medical evacuation by air. This sort of training is perfect for high risk work environment that is likely to experience a significant delay in getting emergency services.

Emergency First Aid: Training for emergency first aid includes dealing with acute illnesses and injuries as health problems, communication with local emergency services, and maintaining an updated list of emergency contact numbers like fire, police, poison control and fire, that can be easily accessed by the staff.

Survey of Scene and Victims: This training includes assessing the scene which needs first aid services such as general safety, likely event safety, quick estimate of number of injured persons, identifying others who can help, and so on.

Refresher First Aid Training

First aiders must regularly attend the training to refresh their knowledge and skills of first aid and to ensure that their competence to offer first aide. Refresher training in first aid should be taken up every year and qualifications of first aid should be renewed once in every three years.

Additional First Aid Training

You may also need to take up additional training for first aid to react to particular conditions at your workplace. For instance, in places where staff has severe allergies, first aiders must be trained to manage anaphylaxis if they have not got the training to handle it in earlier training of first aid.

Registered Training Organizations

Whatever may be the level of first aid training needed, it should be given by a registered and reputable training organization like First Aid Safety, a London-based expert of HSE compliant and Ofqual regulated courses in first aid, fire training and manual handling.