If you’ve been told you need to sort out first aid training for your workplace, the next question is usually which course do we need?
And that’s where some people can get a bit confused – we’ve got Emergency First Aid at Work, First Aid at Work, paediatric first aid, requalification, and refresher courses so there are quite a few options, and the right one depends on your workplace, your staff and the sort of risks you’re dealing with. So, if you’re based in Enfield or nearby and trying to work out where to start, we’ve put together a simple guide.
Start with your workplace, not the course list
Before booking anything, it’s worth thinking about what your workplace actually looks like day to day. An office with ten people is very different from a warehouse, workshop, nursery or construction site. Things like the number of staff you have, the type of work you do, shift patterns, lone workers and any hazards all play a part which is why you need to carry out a first aid needs assessment. It doesn’t need to be complicated, you’re basically looking at your workplace and asking:
- How many people do we have?
- What could realistically go wrong?
- Are there any higher-risk activities?
- Do people work alone or out of hours?
- Have we had accidents or incidents before?
- What happens when our usual first aider is off sick or on holiday?
Once you’ve thought that through, it becomes much easier to decide what level of training is appropriate.
Emergency First Aid at Work
For smaller, lower-risk workplaces, Emergency First Aid at Work training is often the place to start. It’s a one-day course and covers the core skills somebody might need in an emergency, including CPR, unconscious casualties, bleeding, shock, seizures and burns. This is a practical course, and you will practise things like CPR and the recovery position, which makes a big difference when it comes to remembering what to do later.
First Aid at Work
If your workplace is larger, busier or has more risks involved, you may need to book the full First Aid at Work course which runs over three days and goes into more detail. As well as the basics, it covers a wider range of injuries and illnesses, including fractures, serious bleeding, burns and major medical emergencies. For some workplaces, that extra level of training is important so uf you’re not sure whether you need the one-day or three-day course, it’s worth checking your first aid needs assessment or give us a call and can help guide you.
Refresher and requalification training
First aid certificates don’t last forever so if you’ve already got qualified first aiders in the team, you’ll need to keep an eye on when their certificates expire. Leaving it until the last minute can make things awkward, especially if you’ve only got two trained people and suddenly realise they’re both due for renewal at the same time. Planning ahead usually makes life much easier.
Paediatric First Aid
If you work with babies or children, you’ll need to look at paediatric first aid rather than standard workplace training alone. That means nurseries, childminders and other childcare settings where staff need to know how to respond to emergencies involving younger children. CPR, choking and illness can look very different with a baby compared with an adult, so proper practical training is important.
Why train locally in Enfield?
This probably sounds obvious, but local training just makes things easier. If you’re based around Enfield, Edmonton, Southgate, Palmers Green or the surrounding area, sending somebody halfway across London for a course can turn one day’s training into a very long day. Having training nearby means less travelling, less disruption and fewer complaints from whoever drew the short straw and got sent on the course. It also makes things simpler when you’ve got several members of staff to train, you can spread course dates out rather than having half the team disappear at once.
Can we come to you?
Yes we can. If you’ve got a group of people who all need training, it can sometimes make more sense for us to come to your workplace. In-house first aid training can save a fair bit of time and travel, particularly for larger teams and everybody trains together, which can be useful in workplaces where people are likely to deal with an emergency as a team. We deliver in-house training in Enfield, across London and further afield.
First aid training should feel practical
One of the things we hear quite often is that people worry about getting first aid wrong which is completely understandable. Reading about CPR and doing CPR on a training mannequin are two very different things. The whole point of practical training is to make the actions feel familiar, to practise, to ask questions and to be able to make mistakes and learn in a safe environment. Nobody expects you to walk into a course already knowing what you’re doing, that’s what the course is for.
Which course should I book?
As a rough guide:
- Emergency First Aid at Work: A good option for many smaller or lower-risk workplaces.
- First Aid at Work: More comprehensive training for larger or higher-risk workplaces.
- First Aid at Work Requalification or Refresher training: For existing first aiders whose certificate is coming up for renewal.
- Paediatric First Aid: For people working with babies and children.
- In-House First Aid Training: Useful if you’ve got a group of staff to train together.
If you’re still not sure, give us a call, tell us a bit about your workplace and we’ll point you in the right direction.
Looking for a course locally?
STS First Aid has been running first aid and safety training for many years, with regular public courses from our Enfield training centre. So, whether you’re training a new first aider, renewing an existing qualification or sorting training for the whole team, have a look at our upcoming course dates. It’s usually much easier to have a quick conversation than spend half an hour trying to work it out from a list of course names.
