Choosing the Right First Aid Course

There is a wide range of first aid courses that come under the General header and can be taken by groups of employees or individuals both for use within a job role or for their own skills and peace of mind. These courses include:

• Emergency First Aid at Work
• First Aid at Work
• Paediatric First Aid
• Emergency Paediatric First Aid
• Nutrition and Hydration
• AED with Life Support
• CPR and Defibrillation
• Basic Life Support for Adults and Children

There has been a worldwide initiative to raise awareness of mental health in the workplace over the past few years and mental health courses dedicated to different workplace settings and situations are now readily available. Whilst individuals may be interested in these courses, they do tend to be taken by those who work in a role where mental health awareness is key.

Courses in the mental health category include:

• Mental Health Awareness
• Mental Health Champion Training
• Mindfulness & Wellbeing Workshop
• Stress Buster
• Introduction to Mental Health in the Workplace
• Managing Mental Health in the Workplace
• Mental Health & Supporting Young People
• Mental Health & Supporting Colleagues
• Mental Health & Resilience Management in the Workplace
• Supervising First Aid for Mental Health
• Wellbeing at Work
• Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty
• Dementia Awareness
• Mental Health First Aid Training
• Managing Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace

Whilst basic paediatric first aid courses are suitable for the majority of people who wish or require skills in this area, there are more specialist courses for those who work with children in a childcare setting, or in an outdoor area etc.

• Administration of Medicines in Schools
• Paediatric First Aid for Child Carers
• Outdoor Paediatric First Aid

This type of first aid course are aimed at those who do not have a medical background but may have to give emergency treatment to casualties, perhaps with life threatening conditions. This can include delegates from all walks of life, including educational professionals, office workers and construction site workers.

Courses in this category include:

• Basic Trauma and Casualty Care (BTACC)
• Intermediate Trauma and Casualty Care (ITACC)

First Aid at Work courses are more general but confined to one or more specific workplace environments, so typically delegates will be sent by an employer to train in skills required for their job role. There are many, varied courses for different industries that fall under this category, including ones from the categories above (for example, mental health or those working in childcare settings).

Separately from this, courses in this category include:

• First Person on Scene (for a specific set of groups and industries including military, airline staff, voluntary sector and close protection)
• First Aid at Work
• Emergency First Aid at Work
• First Aid at Work and Paediatric First Aid Combined
• First Aid Annual Update
• First Aid for Appointed Persons
• End of Life Care (for those in care roles delivering this service)
• Administration of Medicines to Adults in Care (for those working in a residential care setting)
• Driver CPC – First Aid (for all HGV / LGV drivers of vehicles over 7.5 tonnes)
• First Aid Train the Trainer (for those who wish to train others on first aid in the workplace)
• Activity First Aid (for those who have a specific responsibility to provide first aid whilst undertaking activities such as swimming, hiking etc)
• Global Wind Organisation (GWO) First Aid (for those who need to deliver first aid in the wind turbine industry/ WTG environment)
• National Award in Infection Control (for those who work in environments where infection spread must be kept controlled, such as hospitals, doctors surgeries and schools)
• Basic Life Support and Management of Anaphylaxis (for those who have a specific responsibility to provide basic life support and manage anaphylaxis when dealing with an emergency).
• Safe Handling of Medicines
• Sports First Aid (for those who work in the sports sector and have a responsibility to deliver first aid)

As can be seen above, there is a wide range of first aid courses to consider when looking to expand your skill set in this area, so you must firstly explore your motives behind wanting to sit the course.

If you are an individual or an employee who wishes to learn or refresh your first aid skills but has no responsibility to do this, then we would recommend a general course to start with, such as Basic First Aid, CPR and Resuscitation or Paediatric First Aid. This type of course gives a good introduction to the most common situations you may be faced with in your everyday life and can stand you in good stead to then move into more specific course areas, such as AED with Life Support or Emergency Paediatric First Aid.

If you work in a job role that requires you to learn about a specific area of first aid, then you need to look through and drill down to what is most applicable. People who work in lower risk environments will be best looking at courses like First Aid at Work or Emergency First Aid at Work, whereas those in higher risk areas may want to do these courses plus look at courses for more niche skills, such as the Sports First Aid or Activity First Aid courses.

You should consult with your employee as to the course(s) you wish to do before booking on, as they may suggest a more suitable alternative or have specific legal qualifications that they need you to hold before sitting anything additional. Please do also feel free to give us a call on 01933 233884 or email to enquiries@bookmycourse.co.uk, as we will be able to help.