First aiders whose certificates have expired can't be workplace first aiders. Period. It doesn't matter however qualified and knowledgeable they may feel.

So if you don't keep your eye on the ball, you may find yourself without enough first aiders to safely look after all those who are in your care.

So the answer is... it depends!

How long a first aid certificate lasts for really depends on the type of qualification you're talking about. If you're holding a certificate for a regulated first aid course then it'll be every three years. That includes any of the 'at work' series, or a Paediatric first aid course.

Once that date has gone, you can't be a first aider until you've completed your renewal.

For other courses, the validity is usually shorter (between 1 and 1.5 years).

But of course validity is only part of the story. If you're not confident in your skills, it's worth considering a skills refresher, or a renewal. That may be because you haven't used your skills, or simply that you've forgotten them. We'll come on to first aid refresher courses a bit later.

Workplace First Aid Certificates

All of the regulated first aid certificates are valid for 3 years from the date of qualification. These include the:

• 1-day Emergency First Aid at Work
• 3-day First Aid at Work
• 2-day First Aid Requalification course.

In each case, if a member of staff wishes to continue to be a first aider, they should complete and pass their course before their existing certificate expires. They can’t be a first aider until they've requalified.

In addition, anyone wishing to extend their full First Aid at Work certificate through attending a 2-day requalification course should ideally do so before their existing 3-day certificate expires. 

Refreshing your First Aid Skills between Renewals

In addition to renewing your certificates every 3 years, the HSE strongly recommends that all first aiders undertake a first aid refresher course each year, in between full courses.

The idea is that you keep your skills up to date, and improve your ability to recall and perform first aid when it's required.

With good safety practices and a slice of luck, your first aid skills will only be called on very rarely. So a 1/2-day first aid annual refresher can be invaluable in keeping you at the top of your game.

Dental CPR & Medical Emergency Certificate Renewal

Renewal of dental CPR certificates is quite different. The Resuscitation Council (UK) state in their 'Quality Standards: Primary Dental Care' that "Dental practitioners and other dental healthcare staff should update their knowledge and skills in resuscitation at least annually".

Dental CPR and Medical Emergencies certificates last for 12 months. So they're typically renewed every year. They are part of a dental practitioners' 5-year CPD cycle. In addition, records of training will be included within a practice's CQC inspection.

GP BLS Certificate Renewal

The requirement for the renewal of GP BLS certificates is very similar to those for dental practitioners. Once again, the Resuscitation Council (UK) require that staff should have annual training updates.

However they allow for an amount of local discretion between clinical and non-clinical staff. They state that:

• "Clinical staff should have at least annual updates", while
• "Non-clinical staff generally should have annual updates also. However, a local risk assessment may be undertaken to assess the likelihood of them encountering a patient requiring resuscitation".

This doesn't mean that non-clinical staff don't require training; far from it. It's simply that practice staff may decide that non-clinical staff don't require training as often as clinical staff do.

However always bear in mind that, if you rely on non-clinical staff as part of your resuscitation team, to get equipment, call an ambulance, direct other patients or for any other part of your resuscitation chain, they will need regular training too. Your process as a whole is always only as strong as its weakest link.

So our recommendation would remain, unless there's a good reason to do otherwise, run your BLS training for your entire practice team annually.

For Schools, Nurseries and Colleges

Renewing Regulated (RQF) First Aid Qualifications

Most first aid certificates for schools and other educational settings last for 3 years, following the same rules as other workplaces. They include Paediatric first aid courses (both the in-person and blended versions) as well as the regular first aid at work series of courses.

Other Course Certificates

How often you renew certificates for other education-focused courses depends very much on the requirements of your setting, your risk assessment and the decisions of your leadership team. You also need to take into account the number of pupils (and / or staff) who are affected by any of the conditions.

Examples of the courses you should be thinking about are:

• Anaphylaxis training
• Managing Medicines in Schools
• Infection Prevention and Control

We'd recommend renewing their certification at least every 2-3 years. How often you decide will depend on the numbers of pupils or staff who are affected by the range of conditions covered by the courses. During those 2-3 years, you should also take into account whether you need to train new staff to replace skills that have been lost as trained staff leave.

First Aid for Mental Health

First Aid for Mental Health certificates last for 3 years, having now been brought in line with the other RQF qualifications listed above.

Many of the Awarding Organisations for these qualifications also recommend taking an annual refresher course to keep your skills current, in the years between redoing your full course.

In this article we look at the different things you need to consider when deciding what type of first aid kit you need (and how many of them), and how to keep them stocked and up to date.

Start with your Risk Assessment

Like most things when you're managing first aid in the workplace, what you need in your kit is dependent upon the findings of your first aid risk assessment. 

Your risk assessment helps you to analyse the hazards present in your organisation and the risks that are associated with them. It's a good a starting point to help you decide what measures you need to put in place to safeguard your employees, be that equipment, people processes or documentation.

So when doing your risk assessment, you should think about lots of different things that could pose a risk to you, your workforce and your customers and visitors. It's different for all organisations, precisely because as all organisations are different. but you could start by asking some key questions, such as:

Key Risk Assessment Questions

• How many staff do you have?
• Are they spread across multiple sites? How many?
• Do staff work at heights or with heavy weights?
• Do you have dangerous machinery on site?
• And are there any electrical or hazardous material risks that staff may encounter?

I'm not going to cover this in any detail here, as we have a whole separate article on carrying out your first aid risk assessment. If you need more than that, we've produced a number of example risk assessments for different industries that are available as free downloads. You can use those as 'starter-for-10' risk assessment templates.

If you're still unsure, feel free to get in touch and ask a question - we'll be happy to help.

How many first aid kits do you need?

The following gives indicative (minimum) numbers of first aid kits required by different types of businesses, depending upon their numbers of employees.

Please note that these figures assume that employees are working on a single site. Workers split across multiple sites and in separate buildings (and in many cases even across different floors), should be treated as separate workplaces for the purposes of calculating the number of kits required.

First Aid Kit Details

British Standard BS8599-1:2019

Ever since 2011 there has been a new British Standard BS8599 for first aid kits.  In 2014, a BS8599-2 standard was added which describes in-vehicle kits. And in January 2019, a further update, to BS8599-1:2019 was introduced.

The Standard came into place as workplace environments changed and new first aid products were developed. It describes what kit manufacturers should include in all of their standard kits, and therefore should be used as a guideline for the equipment that workplaces should maintain on their premises.

However, it remains up to individual workplaces to determine, based on their environment and risk assessments, what equipment is required for their particular circumstances.

HSE Guidelines

As the HSE themselves state, it is not a mandatory requirement under the Health & Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 to have a kit which complies with the British Standard.  To quote the HSE’s own website:

The decision on what to provide will be influenced by the findings of the first-aid needs assessment.

Employers may wish to refer to British Standard BS 8599-1 which provides further information on the contents of workplace first-aid kits.

Whether using a first-aid kit complying with BS 8599-1 or an alternative kit, the contents should reflect the outcome of the first-aid needs assessment.

Contents of British Standard First Aid Kits

The British Standard Kits come in 4 sizes, small, medium, large and travel. Your risk assessment will help you to decide which size of kit and quantity is suitable for your environment.

Adding Extra Items

Consider keeping additional spare stocks of things such gloves, plasters, safety pins, eye wash and eye bath and other items.

Also, if body fluid spillages are likely to be common, think about how the mess can be cleaned.  Having access to body fluid spillage kits could also be a good idea.

However it is recommended that tablets and other medication are NOT kept in your first aid kits.

Restocking your first aid kits

Ensure that all kits are restocked after use.  There's nothing worse in an emergency than going to get an item out of your first aid kit, only to find that the item is missing.

The kits should be well stocked with clean, in date materials and dressings in them. Please note that dressings do have an expiry date on them after which they should not be used. This is because the manufacturers are unable to guarantee they remain sterile after that date.

Also, be aware of any allergies that staff or visitors may have - in particular latex allergies are common, so stocking up with latex-free gloves may be important.

Where to keep your first aid kits

First Aid kits should be kept in a place where they are easily accessible.  They should also be easily identifiable. The symbol of a white cross on a green background is an internationally recognised symbol for first aid kits.

Ideally they should be located close to facilities with running water to facilitate cleaning of minor wounds etc.

Accident Books & RIDDOR Reporting

Finally, whenever you have used the kit and restocked it, don’t forget to fill in the accident book and any other paperwork your organisation requires.

If the incident or illness is reportable under RIDDOR, make sure you also follow correct procedures to report it.

Almost half of adults and more than 40% of children in the UK have been diagnosed with at least one allergy, according to recent studies. Almost half of those who do suffer have more than one allergy, and research shows that it’s on the increase.

So if you don’t have at least one yourself, the chances are that you share a house or office with someone who does.

Fortunately for many of us, me included, they’re a comparatively slow-developing, mild annoyance - think hayfever, for example (don’t get me wrong, they can still be really unpleasant and debilitating) that can be managed using antihistamine medication. 

Anaphylaxis is Different

While anaphylaxis is also a reaction to an allergen, its severity is on a whole different scale.

Anaphylaxis affects the whole body and is life-threatening.

It typically comes on really quickly – within minutes of contact with the allergen, although more unusually, it can take a few hours to kick in. And when it does, its symptoms are really serious, involving airway, breathing and circulation problems.

Common Causes of Anaphylaxis

There are many different causes of anaphylaxis and as such, no list that I provide here could include all of the possibilities. But some causes are more common than others. They include:

Food related:

• Peanuts
• Tree Nuts
• Kiwi
• Milk
• Sesame
• Fish & Shellfish
• Lupin (related to peanuts)

Non-Food:

• Latex – often found in rubberised products such as rubber gloves, rubberised flooring, rubber bands, erasers, balloons, condoms, baby bottle teats and dummies, carpet backing etc
• Penicillin
• Other Drugs
• Wasp & Bee Stings

How Common is it?

Research published in 2021 in the British Medical Journal shows that hospital admissions due to anaphylaxis has been increasing over the past two decades. This is particularly found in the under-15s, and is due to both non-food and food-related causes, as shown in the graphs below from the BMJ. 

Graph from: BMJ 2021: Food anaphylaxis in the United Kingdom: analysis of national data, 1998-2018

Main Symptoms

The following lists the main symptoms of anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis UK refer to them as the ABC symptoms. Note that not all symptoms need to be present for an attack to be really serious:

A – AIRWAY: swelling throat, tongue or airway, causing tightening in the throat resulting in increased difficulty in swallowing and changes to the voice
B – BREATHING: wheezing, noisy, difficult breathing
C – CIRCULATION: dizziness, tiredness, confusion, pale & clammy skin, loss of consciousness.

Sufferers may get one or more of the above symptoms, and can often also get skin rashes, itching, flushing or swelling skin, stomach pains and feeling or being sick.

If the sufferer’s condition is left untreated, collapse and unconsciousness will follow swiftly.

Treatment

A sufferer should have been prescribed an adrenaline auto-injector and should carry two in-date injectors at all times. These autoinjectors may have different brand names such as Epipen®, Jext® and Emerade®.
Treatment should be immediate, the moment a known sufferer gets any of the main ABC symptoms.

1. Sit the person down.
2. If they feel faint, they can lie down and raise their legs.
3. They should use the auto-injector as soon as any of the anaphylaxis symptoms are present. This will usually be self-administered by the sufferer.
4. As soon as the auto-injector is administered, an ambulance MUST be called, and the emergency services operator should be told that the person is suffering from anaphylaxis.
5. Make a note of the time that they self-administered the adrenaline.
6. If symptoms remain after 5 minutes, or if there is any doubt whether the patient has improved, the second dose should be given.
7. Whether there’s any improvement or not, the sufferer MUST be seen by a paramedic. Even if symptoms improve, they can return and prove fatal.
8. Stay with them until professional medical help arrives.
9. Be prepared to resuscitate them if necessary.

Minimising Risk

There are several things that can be done by the sufferer (or person helping them) to reduce risk. They include:

1. Make sure you know and avoid as many of the potential triggers as possible. So for food triggers, always check the ingredients lists, check with restaurants, cafes and takeaways about ingredients. Determine whether trigger foods are prepared on the same premises.
2. Always carry two in-date adrenaline auto-injectors at all times. If you need to go and find one during an attack, it may be too late.
3. Use your autoinjector if you think you’re having an attack, even if you’re not sure.
4. If you’re unsure about your particular triggers, it may be possible to be referred to an allergy clinic to have tests. These would help to identify the food and non-food items which may bring on an attack in your case, and could help you to avoid them.
5. If you’re allergic to certain medication, make sure you know which ones, and ensure that you let any medical professional know as they’re prescribing for you (they should always ask). This is particularly important if you’re seeing a medical professional who is not your regular GP, and who may not have access to your medical records.

Help from Specialist Support Organisations

In addition to your GP and hospital, there are several organisations in the UK that provide support and other services.

Anaphylaxis UK

Anaphylaxis UK has a comprehensive website giving lots of details about anaphylaxis. Particularly useful are the sections on living with serious allergies, where they talk about shopping, travelling, eating out, living at University, and their allergy alerts, which will automatically email you about food production and mislabelling issues. They also have an information and advice section specifically for schools.

Allergy UK

Allergy UK produce translation cards which you can use make non-English speakers aware of your allergies or that you’re suffering from a serious allergic reaction. They also have a resources section which includes free-from recipes and links to books, factsheets and videos.

Natasha Allergy Research Foundation

This is the charity that was borne out of the tragic death Of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who sadly died after eating sesame seeds that were baked into the dough of a baguette.

Natasha’s parents campaigned tirelessly to change the law to close a loophole on food labelling, and as a result, Natasha’s Law came into effect on 1st October 2021.

Their foundation now continues to campaign about and fundraising to fight allergies and anaphylaxis. You can read more, join their campaign or donate at the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation website. 

What Anaphylaxis training is available?

Several training courses are available for those who may be exposed to, or care for those who may be exposed to an anaphylactic reaction.

• The 3-day First Aid at Work course includes basic training in administering to a casualty with anaphylaxis. Anyone who works in an environment where they’re likely to encounter people with anaphylaxis should consider having first aiders trained to this level.
• The 2-day Paediatric First Aid course (including full face-to-face and blended versions) includes training in treating young people with anaphylaxis.
• We also offer anaphylaxis and epi-pen training courses suitable for those who care for or are responsible for anyone who is known to suffer from severe allergic reactions. Different versions of this course can be run with and without CPR skills updates.
• Finally, we also offer an anaphylaxis training top-up for GPs and other medical practitioners as an optional addon to your annual CPR training sessions.

While face-to-face training remains the gold-standard for first aid because of it’s practical nature, online and blended courses can provide a great way of learning when face-to-face training is more difficult. It’s also very useful for more theoretical subjects and can be a very cost-effective way for learners to gain knowledge.

We’ve started small so far, but our range of courses will continue to grow in the coming months. For the moment, we have the following courses listed below. If you’d like more details about these or any of our face-to-face courses, just ask.

Our online and blended courses are particularly useful for you if one or more of the following are true:

Before you decide on the best type of training for you, you may also want to take a look at a post we’ve written a post about the benefits and limitations of face to face and online learning.

New Online Courses:

First, we'll take a look at the courses that you can take as 'pure online' training. For each course you get up to 3 months access, giving you the flexibility to take your course where and when you like.

CPR & Medical Emergencies for Dental Professionals:

This course has been created to allow dental clinicians including dentists, dental nurses and hygienists to develop their professional knowledge, understanding and competence in medical emergencies, in line with their identified personal learning requirements.

Annual BLS Course for Primary Care:

This course has been designed to allow healthcare professionals working in Primary Care to develop their professional knowledge, understanding and competence in CPR/AED and medical emergencies, in line with CQC and Resuscitation Council (UK) guidelines

Annual First Aid Update:

This course is ideal for workplace first aiders who want to refresh their skills between completing their course and requalifying three years later.

Family First Aid:

This is designed to give you the knowledge to help a baby, child or adult with both minor and major first aid incidents as well as giving advice on how to manage a range of common illnesses and conditions.

First Aid for Parents & Childcarers:

This course has been created for parents, grandparents and anyone caring for babies and young children so that they can respond promptly and effectively to any first aid incident or emergency as well as giving advice on how to manage common childhood illnesses and conditions.

Fire Safety Course for Early Years:

This interactive and comprehensive online course provides an awareness of fire safety in early years settings and is suitable for all staff working in school, nursery and childminding settings.

It has been developed in line with national fire safety legislation and Ofsted guidelines for early years settings and is mapped to Level 2 on the RQF.

Early Years Risk Assessment:

This course is aimed at everyone working in Early Years settings including childminders and nursery staff, and provides information on the importance of risk assessment and responsibilities and processes of carrying out risk assessments.

COVID-19 – Infection Prevention and Control for the Workplace:

Provides employers and employees with an understanding of how COVID19 and other infections are transmitted and what measures should be put in place to prevent and control their spread in the workplace.

New Blended Courses:

With all blended courses, there is an online element and a face-to-face element, and candidates need to complete and pass both parts in order to gain their qualification. Before deciding on a blended course, please contact us to ensure that there is a suitable face-to-face course available in your location.

For the blended element of each course, you get up to 3 months access, giving you the flexibility to take your course where and when you like. All we ask is that you've completed your course before the face-to-face element takes place.

Paediatric First Aid for Early Years:

The elearning module has been designed to give learners the theoretical knowledge needed to accompany a practical face to face training day. It meets all EYFS/Ofsted requirements as well as those of CSSIW and Scottish Early Years.

Candidates will need to take both the online module and attend a full day’s practical to gain their qualification. Please check that a suitable practical session is available before booking your course.

CPR & Medical Emergencies for Dental Professionals:

This course has been created to allow dental clinicians including dentists, dental nurses and hygienists to develop their professional knowledge, understanding and competence in medical emergencies, in line with their identified personal learning requirements.

It includes both theory and practical elements to meet your annual Medical Emergencies training requirements.

Annual BLS Course for Primary Care:

This course has been designed to allow healthcare professionals working in Primary care to develop their professional knowledge, understanding and competence in CPR/AED and medical emergencies, in line with CQC and Resuscitation Council (UK) guidelines.

This blended version adds face-to-face practical training and assessment to complement your theoretical skills update.

For more about HTS Training and our Courses:

If you’d like more details on any of the above courses, either click the links above, contact us via our enquiry form, or call 01234 308 740.

Alternatively, if you'd like to know a bit about HTS Training and our values, take a look at our 'about' page.

If you work in a primary care environment, including GP and Dental Practices, Pharmacies and Optometry, then this is for you.

The Resuscitation Council has released new guidance, in the form of an infographic (see above), for carrying out adult CPR during the current pandemic.

The graphic is also downloadable direct from the Resuscitation Council, and from that page, you can also access the Resus Council's full statement on COVID-19 in Primary Care settings.