First aid training can instil people with the skills to save a life. However, like a lot of skills, knowledge of proper first aid technique can wane over time. For this reason, it is important that all first aiders refresh their skills regularly.
REGULAR RENEWAL OF FIRST AID CERTIFICATES is recommended by experts in the industry.
A First Aid refresher course is the best way for a certificate holder’s knowledge to be brought into focus again. It not only serves as a reminder to refresh existing knowledge, it can, and often does, add new information to that knowledge.
An employer may require more frequent renewal of First Aid certification than what is generally recommended. It’s up to the needs of the individual workplace.
Appropriate planning for first aid at work is a legal requirement for every employer in the UK, regardless of the size of the business. It is the employer's responsibility to ensure that someone is always available to administer or arrange first aid.
A first-aid plan must be 'adequate and appropriate according to the circumstances'. You should ensure that you have the necessary first aid equipment (first aid kit), facilities, and personnel on hand at all times.
If an employer has identified that first-aiders are needed in their workplace, they must ensure that those identified to be first-aiders undertake training appropriate to the need.
HSE strongly recommends that first-aiders undertake annual refresher training, over half a day, during any three-year certification period. Although not mandatory, this will help qualified first-aiders maintain their basic skills and keep up to date with any changes to first-aid procedures.
At HSE Docs, we are expert providers of online first aid training for work, and prices start from as little as £4.99 making it a cost-effective way of ensuring all of your employees are suitably trained and have the certification to prove it.
First aid recertification classes allow you to renew your skills, learn the latest techniques and can help keep your memory fresh – so that during times of need, you're ready to respond.
To renew your first aid certification, you can choose to take an in-person class at a facility near you, or register for a blended Simulation Learning course, which allows you to study online, then complete a hands-on skills session in person.
First Aid for Severe Trauma™ (FAST™) Training Resources
Due to current natural disasters and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, please expect shipping delays when purchasing product from the Red Cross Store.
All first-aid training certificates are valid for 3 years. You should arrange to requalify first aiders before the certificate expires, otherwise they’ll not be deemed competent to act (See s.74 of The HSE's Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
When your first aiders qualifications are due to expire you need to check that the qualification still meets your needs and book them onto appropriate training.
It’s up to you to choose the most suitable training provider for your requirements. However, you must undertake appropriate due diligence (i.e. a reasonable investigation), covering: 1 The qualifications expected of the trainers and assessors 2 What monitoring and quality assurance systems are in place 3 Teaching standards of first-aid practice 4 Whether the syllabus content is sufficient 5 Validity of the certificates.
It’s important that employers keep on top of their first aid certificate qualifications and regularly reassess their needs . Skills can deteriorate over time and a lapse in training could potentially be the difference between life and death.
These courses cover the full content of the initial first aid at work course but content is condensed from 3 to 2 days. The HSE recommend that if their certificate has expired by more than a month that they attend a full 3 day First aid at Work course which would allow them additional time to refresh their skills.
The HSE also recommends that first aiders undertake annual refresher training and are given regular time to review their course materials. Refresher training can be in a classroom or via e-Learning, it is up to you to consider what is most suitable for your first aiders.
It is down to you, the employer, to determine the most appropriate course to requalify them. If your first aiders held a certificate other than an Emergency First aid at Work or First aid at Work certificate, it is for the you to choose the most appropriate training to requalify them. Whatever course you choose you need to ensure you carry out due ...
The Adult First Aid/CPR/AED course incorporates the latest science and teaches students to recognize and care for a variety of first aid emergencies such as burns, cuts, scrapes, sudden illnesses, head, neck, back injuries, heat and cold emergencies and how to respond to breathing and cardiac emergencies for victims about 12 years and older.Successful students will receive a certificate for Adult First Aid/CPR/AED valid for two years.
The purpose of CAPCE is to standardize the review and approval of quality EMS Continuing Education activities.
Red Cross courses offer Digital Certification, an online version of a Red Cross certificate, which provides anytime, anywhere access to student training history and course certificates. Digital certificates can be viewed, printed or shared online and can be accessed anytime through your Red Cross Account.
Due to current natural disasters and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, please expect shipping delays when purchasing product from the Red Cross Store.
Nurses, social workers, teachers and day care providers and other professionals who need continuing education units to maintain licensure or certification can obtain CEUs through American Red Cross Training Services.
The American Red Cross has been approved to provide continuing education credit through CAPCE for the following educational activities:
We might think of skills we gained at school or in tertiary training (Uni, TAFE, or a trade apprenticeship) and wonder why that training is regarded as valid for a lifetime, while first aid training quickly goes out of date. In reality, it’s not that the skills we’ve learned stop being effective after a few years. There are other reasons why the experts recommend periodic first aid refresher courses.
The standards for how often people should do first aid training are set out by the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC). This is a body of expert medical professionals from Australia and New Zealand who teach and practice resuscitation. They’re some of the best-qualified people in either country to be making those decisions.
The ARC recommends renewing your training certificates every three years to keep your first aid valid. This is true of most government-defined first aid training courses, including HLTAID011 Provide First Aid, the standard first aid training course.
A little. Different countries have different standards for training courses, and there can be variations in how long specific training remains valid. For example, in the UK, the “Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support” course is valid for two years, while “Basic First Aid and CPR” is valid for three. But in most cases, three years is the longest time that any first aid training will remain current.
If you’ve done first aid training in the past, you may or may not be aware that the standards have recently changed – so for example, the HLTAID011 Provide First Aid course has now replaced the older HLTAID003 course. If you’ve completed one of the older qualifications, it’s sensible to ask “is my certificate in first aid valid at this point?”
Things change – The reality is that circumstances change and that changes how we do first aid. For example, in recent years defibrillators have gone from a specialised tool for medical professionals to a widely available piece of first aid equipment that anyone can use. And first aid training has evolved to accommodate this. Recent times have also seen the world’s social landscape re-written by the Covid 19 pandemic – which also shifted the guidelines for how we care for the sick and injured.
Standards evolve with the Research – It might seem odd for first aid standards to change, but the reality is that medical research is going on all the time. Each year we learn more about the best way to do first aid. Some of these lessons come from dedicated research, but others come from seeing first aid procedures in practice and seeing what does and doesn’t work – there’s a lot you can learn from statistics. For example, the number of CPR breaths and chest compressions to give you the best odds of survival has been revised repeatedly as the science behind it has improved.