ST John Ambulance is warning businesses in Somerset to be prepared for the biggest overhaul in first aid in the workplace for 25 years or face a cash fine.

The Health and Safety Executive is bringing in major changes to its first aid regulations on October 1 and St John Ambulance believes many employers are ill-prepared, which could put the lives of their staff at risk.

Changes including reclassifying medium sized businesses into low or high risk, which means that companies may need to train more first aiders among their employees.

Elaine Leighton, Regional Marketing Manager for St John Ambulance in the South West, said: “It’s a sad fact that 180 people die every year from injuries caused at work. This number has gone down from 233 fatalities the previous year which shows how taking health and safety seriously can make the difference between life and death.

“We strongly recommend that businesses embrace the changes to continue to make our workplaces as safe as possible and ensure that if an accident does happen, they are well prepared.

“The worst possible scenario is that an employee is injured and a workplace has not got enough first aiders trained to deal with that situation. We don’t know how the HSE will respond to breaches in regulations but businesses should be wary of fines or even charges under the corporate manslaughter act.

“Every year six million workdays are lost due to workplace injury – businesses could save money by putting precautions and first aiders in place. It’s wise to prepare now.”

The changes, which have been developed by the HSE in consultation with leading first aid organisations including St John Ambulance, are as follows.

* It is proposed that medium-risk businesses will be reclassified into low or high risk. This may mean that businesses have to train more people to comply with the regulations. Details will be announced on 1 October.

* Where a business’s risk assessments previously identified the need for an Appointed Person, they only may now need to have a qualified Emergency First Aider in the Workplace (EFAW) that will require a one-day training course.

* The four day First aid at work (FAW) course will be shortened to three days. The content will be similar to the four day course, but recent streamlining of first aid protocols and enhanced education techniques mean that students need to spend less time away from work.

* The two day FAW requalification to be taken within three years of initial training will remain unchanged.

First aiders are strongly recommended by the HSE to attend a three hour Annual refresher (AR) course to prevent 'skills fade' in addition to the FAW and EFAW courses.

Elaine continued: “At St John Ambulance we train around half a million people nationally in first aid every year and so we’re well placed to offer our help and expertise to businesses, schools and anyone who will be affected by these changes.

“The changes will put the subject of health and safety in the spotlight which provides an excellent opportunity to remind businesses that the safety of their employees must been seen as a priority.”

Mrs Fee Nunn, the Compliance Co-ordinator for nationwide firm Toolstation, which has its head office in Bridgwater. Somerset, said the company used St John Ambulance across the country to meet its need for first aid and fire warden training among its workforce, which is almost 600 strong.

She said: “We work very closely with St John Ambulance to cater for our training needs. They always make sure that we are kept up to date with the legislation and their training is comprehensive and always of a very high standard.”

Fee, who trained as first aider through her role at Toolstation, said the skills she had learnt from St John Ambulance gave her the confidence to help at a three car accident in Ashcott recently.

She added: “Thankfully no-one was seriously injured but I knew what I needed to do and I would have been able to provide more indepth first aid assistance had the injuries required it. Too many lives are lost because people don't know basic first aid and I am confident that St John Ambulance has equipped our employees with the ability to respond in an emergency. I recommend that everyone get at least the basic training, as you never know when you will need it.”

St John Ambulance has set up online risk assessment tools on their website to guide customers through the changes and help them calculate the level of risk in their business and which courses to choose. Visit www.sja.org.uk/training or click on the link in our "related articles" section on this page of our website.