News & Updates

Following the recent update of First aid at work: The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981: Guidance on Regulations (L74) by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), the below pages / information within the STA First Aid resource manuals has been updated.

First Aid Needs Assessment

The HSE have emphasised employers’ responsibilities to take account of employees’ mental health in their first aid needs assessment.
Therefore, the below pages with STA First Aid resource manuals have been updated to reflect this:

• Page 9 Emergency First Aid at Work
• Page 10 Emergency Paediatric First Aid at Work
• Page 10 First Aid at Work
• Page 10 Paediatric First Aid at Work.

The HSE also state that it may also be helpful to have people trained to identify and understand mental ill health symptoms who are able to support someone who is experiencing a mental health issue. You may decide that someone with an FAW or EFAW qualification is already able to provide initial support and reassurance to a worker experiencing an acute mental health episode, but you should consider if any further training is required. You should be satisfied that they:

• Know how to access professional help if necessary
• Can act promptly, safely, and effectively until that help is available.

How much first-aid provision an employer has to make depends on the hazards and risks of each workplace. These can be both:

• Physical
• Related to mental health.

References to ‘catastrophic bleeding’ have been updated to ‘life-threatening bleeding’

The HSE have changed the term ‘catastrophic bleeding’ to ‘life-threatening bleeding’.
Therefore, the below pages with STA First Aid resource manuals have been updated to reflect this:

• Page 64 Emergency First Aid at Work
• Page 62 Emergency Paediatric First Aid at Work
• Page 69 First Aid at Work
• Page 62 Paediatric First Aid at Work.

The HSE have also provided more guidance on what employers should do if they identify life-threatening bleeding as a risk in their workplace as part of the first aid needs assessment. Sectors such as agriculture, forestry and construction, and working locations in remote areas or employers of people working in hospitality, events or other relevant sectors should consider additional training to prepare for injuries to colleagues or the public, resulting from terrorist acts or other violent incidents. For example, additional training may be required in the application of haemostatic dressings, wound packing and / or tourniquets for life-threatening bleeding.

The HSE also state that when an employer selects a training provider, they will need to be confident that the provider will deliver training with appropriate content (i.e. content identified as being appropriate within the needs assessment, and / or content in line with the HSE’s stated content of EFAW / FAW courses Appendices 5 and 6), use suitable trainers and assessors, and has relevant and robust quality assurance systems in place. For example, if the needs assessment has identified that first-aiders may have to manage life-threatening bleeding, employers should ensure the training provider includes this on an FAW course.

STA include information on tourniquet application and wound packing within the Emergency First Aid at Work, Emergency Paediatric First Aid at Work, First Aid at Work and Paediatric First Aid at Work resource manuals to support employers that may require this training. STA tutors must be competent in tourniquet application and wound packing themselves before delivery to learners.

The e-manuals have been updated to reflect these changes. Errata insert sheets are available to download from STA Online and will be added to every hard copy manual order.

In addition, the supporting qualification resources have also been updated to reflect changes. The updated resources are available to download from STA Online now. The updated resources include:

• Suggested timetable
• PowerPoint
• Assessment strategy.

Please ensure the updated resources and errata sheet are used for all future courses.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.