One of the questions we are asked most often is whether a business needs Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) or the full First Aid at Work (FAW) course. The short answer is that it depends on your first aid needs assessment. The longer answer is below.
Start with a needs assessment
Under the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, employers must provide adequate and appropriate first aid equipment, facilities and people. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) expects you to decide what is adequate by assessing your workplace.
Think about:
- the hazards in your work, such as machinery, chemicals or working at height
- how many people you employ, and whether they work shifts or alone
- your history of accidents and near misses
- how far you are from emergency services
- whether members of the public visit your premises
Emergency First Aid at Work
EFAW is a one-day course. It focuses on the life-saving skills a first aider needs while waiting for the emergency services, including:
- managing an incident and assessing a casualty
- CPR and the safe use of a defibrillator
- choking, bleeding and shock
- helping someone who is unresponsive and breathing
It usually suits lower-risk workplaces such as offices, shops and small businesses.
First Aid at Work
FAW is a three-day course. It covers everything in EFAW, then goes further, with injuries and illnesses such as fractures, head and spinal injuries, burns, eye injuries, poisoning, heart attacks, strokes, seizures and asthma. It suits higher-risk environments and larger workplaces.
A starting point from HSE guidance
HSE guidance offers suggested numbers as a starting point, which you should adjust to your own assessment:
- Lower-hazard workplaces with 25 to 50 employees: at least one EFAW-trained first aider.
- Lower-hazard workplaces with more than 50 employees: at least one FAW-trained first aider for every 100 people.
- Higher-hazard workplaces with 5 to 50 employees: at least one EFAW or FAW first aider, depending on the injuries that could occur.
- Higher-hazard workplaces with more than 50 employees: at least one FAW-trained first aider for every 50 people.
Remember to allow for holidays, sickness and shift patterns, so there is always someone available.
If in doubt, choose the course that covers the injuries your team could realistically face, not the one that fits most easily into the diary.
Keeping skills current
Both certificates are valid for three years. HSE strongly recommends a short annual refresher so that skills such as CPR stay sharp between full courses.
Book with Full Blue
We deliver both courses with our partner training providers, at open venues or on site for groups. See our first aid courses or call 0330 533 0999 and we will help you work out what your workplace needs.
