Richard O’Donoghue – LCE Safety Consultant & Trainer answers your work related health and safety queries as part of our monthly Q&A session.
“Is First Aid Training a legal requirement?”
Richard O’Donoghue:
Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and Chapter 2 of Part 7 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 an employer shall:
(a) provide and maintain suitably marked and easily accessible first-aid equipment, as is adequate and appropriate in the circumstances for enabling first-aid to be given to persons at every place where working conditions require it, at a place of work under the employer’s control,
(b) designate at each place of work under the employer’s control the number of occupational first-aiders as is necessary to give first-aid at the place of work concerned,
(c) ensure that the number of occupational first-aiders, their training and the equipment available to them is adequate, taking account of the size or hazards, or both, of each such place of work, and
Furthermore, Section 11-(1) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 states the following:
Without prejudice to the generality of section 8, every employer shall, in preparing and revising as necessary adequate plans and procedures to be followed and measures to be taken in the case of an emergency or serious and imminent danger
• provide the necessary measures to be taken appropriate to the place of work for first aid, fire-fighting and the evacuation of employees and any other individual present in the place of work, taking account of the nature of the work being carried on and the size of the place of work,
• ensure that the number of those employees, their training and the equipment available to them are adequate, taking into account either or both the size of and specific hazards relating to the place of work.
Basically you have to provide the necessary measures i.e. a sufficient number of staff must be trained taking into account the size or hazards involved and to ensure compliance with both the SHWWA 2005 and the SHWW(General Application) Reg 2007. The risk assessment will determine the hazards involved and ultimately the number of first aiders required.
For more information or if you have any other queries which you would like LCE to address contact info@LCE.ie.
