On-line First Aid Courses are not worth the paper they’re written on.

Because of the pandemic, people are, quite understandably, concerned about undertaking First Aid training on a face-to-face basis and are seeking alternatives, usually on-line and there are a number of companies offering on-line first aid training stating that they’re fully accredited, certificated etc.

Be very careful if thinking about undertaking one of these as they are not formal First Aid courses and whilst many make it clear that these are for awareness there are those that also promote them as ‘Emergency First Aid at Work’ or ‘First Aid at Work’ and charging as little as £15-£20 whilst implying that you’ll get a First Aid certificate once you’ve completed their training.

The very real danger is people undertake these thinking that they’ll become qualified First Aiders which is simply not true. The Health & Safety Executive have affirmed that they will not recognise any purely on-line First Aid training as it does not include the vital practical exercises that must take place to adequately train someone as a First Aider.

There is ample guidance on the HSE web site about how to assess a business’s First Aid needs and this can be found at https://www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/index.htm

Face-to face First Aid training has, with appropriate safeguards, continued throughout the pandemic as it is regarded as an essential activity.

If you’d like to learn more then please don’t hesitate to contact us.