First Aid at Work

The First Aid at Work (FAW) course is a practical course that follows the recommended syllabus laid down by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

It has a formal examination on practical elements of the course where candidates are required to show competency in basic life support, care of an unconscious casualty and treatment of a wounded or injured conscious casualty.

Since the HSE implemented a change in legislation on 1st October 2009, the course duration has decreased from 4–days to 3-days.

The course covers the following areas:

• Introduction
• Practical scenarios
• Principles of first aid
• Vital signs
• Incident procedure
• Treatment of an unresponsive casualty
• Bleeding and shock
• Basic life support Heart attack and Chain of survival theory
• Basic Life Support Non Heart Attack (child/drowning)
• Choking
• Minor Injuries – soft tissue and fractures
• Serious injuries – including head injuries
• Hypothermia/ Hyperthermia
• Insulation and shelter – with relevance to the working environment
• Common medical problems – includes angina/conscious heart attack, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy (fitting), faints, anaphylaxis and stroke
• Conscious casualty positioning
• Burns
• Poisons
• Eye injuries
• First aid kits
• Legislation
• Manual handling considerations in first aid provision
• Exam preparation and exam