You should check with your employer if you are in doubt as to whether this course is appropriate for your job role.

Employers have a duty to provide employees with appropriate training.  This starts with undertaking a First Aid Needs Assessment to determine the correct training for any give job role.

If you are a contractor working for a bigger organisation, you need to check first with ‘duty holder’ whether an online First Aid at Work course is appropriate for their working environment.

Situations where an online First Aid at Work course may be appropriate can include.

• Small low-risk businesses employing under 25 staff
• For remote workers or small remote teams
• For every employee in higher-risk business
• As part of a ‘blended’ training programme which includes face-to-face practice
• As an annual refresher for First Aiders
• For the person appointed to manage first aid arrangements

The Health & Safety Executive recommends that a qualified, First Aid at Work first-aider should undergo an 18-hour face-to-face course.

This first aid at work online course is designed for;

1. The ‘appointed person’ in low-hazard workplaces employing fewer than 25 staff.
2. The ‘appointed person’ in higher hazard workplaces employing fewer than 5 staff.
3. The online element of a ‘blended’ first-aider qualification.
4. As an annual refresher course for 18-hour FAW qualified first-aiders.  (Annual refresher training is not mandatory but is ‘strongly recommended’ but the HSE.)
5. Remote workers and employees working in small satellite teams.
6. All staff in ‘higher hazard’ business for example engineering, construction, warehousing and food or drink processing.

What are first aid legal requirements?

The law defining employer duties is the First-Aid Regulations 1981.

First-Aid regulations require “employers to provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure their employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work.”

To achieve this, it is recommended that every business.

• Completes a first aid needs assessment.
• Has an appropriately stocked first aid kit.
• Appoints someone to maintain first aid arrangements.
• Communicate arrangements to staff
• Provide appropriate first aid training to staff.
• Report workplace injuries the lead to an employee missing over 7 days from work (RIDDOR).

Heart Attacks

Heart attacks are caused by the blood supply to the heart being suddenly interrupted.  Usually this stems again from a build-up of cholesterol plaque within a coronary artery. The plaque in this instance cracks which leads to the formation of a blood clot which blocks the artery and the supply of blood to the heart.

Heart attacks are a common cause of sudden cardiac arrest, but most heart attacks do not lead to sudden cardiac arrest.

Cardiac Arrest

Cardiac arrest means the heart is no longer moving blood through the body.

When blood circulation stops, the brain shuts down, including its respiratory centre. So, when the heart stops, so does breathing, usually within a minute or less.

Causes of cardiac arrest include:

• Electrocution
• A drug overdose
• Losing a large amount of blood
• Suffocation

But most cardiac arrests occur when a diseased heart’s electrical system malfunctions.  This is know as sudden cardiac arrest or SCA.  There is often little or no warning.

A victim will lose consciousness, have absent or abnormal breathing and no circulation.

Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death.  Each year around 350,000 incidents occur in the US and 100,000 in the UK.

This online First Aid course provides colleagues with the knowledge needed to recognise and respond appropriate to sudden cardiac arrest and heart attacks.

Strokes happen when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off by a blood clot. Strokes are a medical emergency and urgent treatment is essential.

If you suspect someone is having a stroke, think ‘FAST’:

Face – ask them to smile. If they are only able to smile on one side of their mouth and/or their eye may also have dropped – this is not normal.

Arms – ask them to raise both arms. If they are only able to lift one arm – this is not normal.

Speech – ask them to speak. If their speech is slurred or garbled, or they are unable to talk despite being awake – this is not normal.

Time – if you see any of these signs or symptoms you must dial 999 immediately and tell them you think the casualty is having a stroke.

Strokes are a serious life-threatening condition, there are more than 100,000 strokes in the UK each year. That’s around one stroke every five minutes.