Find A Local Public First Aid Course
Are you looking for a public first aid course for yourself, your work place or club? We hope that you find what you are looking for here – our members, who are based all over the UK have listed their public courses on the course finder.
If you need help in understanding just what is covered on the wide range of occupational first aid courses then please look at our course descriptions below or download the comparison chart we have provided.
Should you be interested in running an in-house course then you might find our regional ‘find a training provider’ facility useful. Our members can be contacted directly via their contact details.
If you need some extra help in understanding just what your training needs are, then our members would be more than happy to help you with your training needs assessment.
First Aid at Work (FAW)
This course is for those work places or individuals where the risk is deemed to be sufficiently high to require cover by those fully qualified in First Aid at Work. This course is run over 18 hours, usually over 3 days. Courses cannot run over any less than 3 days, however, some training providers run them in shorter sessions over more than 3 days.
Courses can only be delivered by organisations or individuals who hold approval to deliver the training by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE); training providers will have a unique HSE approval number. To see how the course content differs from the Emergency First Aid at Work course then please see our comparison chart. This qualification is valid for three years and those who wish to re-qualify should undertake the First Aid at Work re-qualification course before their certificate expires.
There is now a facility for First Aiders to re-qualify within a window of 28 days directly following expiry, although First Aiders should not rely on this and it is good practice to book on to a course prior to the certificate expiring.
It is now recommended that holders of an FAW certificate undertake an annual refresher course (usually half a day) to help keep their knowledge and skills up to date.
Anyone attending a FAW course should be aware that they will be assessed on their practical skills and knowledge at the end of the course. First Aiders should be in good enough health to undertake the course and to be able to perform their duties as a work place first aider.
First Aid at Work (FAW) Requalification
This course is for those individuals who require to update their FAW qualification. It is
required that learners provide proof of their qualification to the training organization. This course runs over 12 hours usually over two days.
Courses cannot run over any less than 2 days, however, some training providers run them in shorter sessions over more than 2 days. Courses can only be delivered by organisations or individuals who hold approval to deliver the training by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE); training providers will have a unique HSE approval number.
The content of the course is the same as the 18 hour FAW course. As with the FAW course it is recommended that individuals undertake an annual refresher course (usually half a day) to help keep their knowledge and skills up to date.
Anyone attending a FAW re-qualification course should be aware that they will be assessed on their practical skills and knowledge at the end of the course. First Aiders should be in good enough health to undertake the course and to be able to perform their duties as a work place first aider.
Emergency First Aid at Work course (EFAW)
This is a new course that came into effect in October 2009. It is a course for individuals
where the work place has less of a risk and therefore a 6 hour course is sufficient, or where a work place needs a mixture of qualified staff in order to meet its risk assessment.
Courses can only be delivered by organisations or individuals who hold approval to deliver the training by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE); training providers will have a unique HSE approval number – or where the training provider is licensed by Qualification Curriculum Authority.
To see how the qualification differs from the First Aid at Work (FAW) course please see our comparison chart.
As with the FAW course is recommended that individuals undertake an annual refresher course (usually half a day) to help keep their knowledge and skills up to date.
Automated External Defibrillation course (AED)
For those individuals who need to be competent AED operators. The course usually runs over half a day, and will cover at a minimum Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation as well as use of the AED. The qualification is valid for one year.
Anyone undertaking this course would be wise to check that the training provider runs the course in accordance with United Kingdom Resuscitation Council guidelines. To find out more about this course please visit http://www.resus.org.uk/pages/aed.pdf
Paediatric First Aid course (PFA)
There is much confusion over how long this course should last and just what is covered.
This overview is aimed at those individuals who are working within the pre-school setting. Ofsted require that courses are delivered over 12 hours. Courses cannot run over any less than 2 days, however, some training providers run them in shorter sessions over more than 2 days.
There are no legal requirements about who can deliver these courses, but it is important for learners to ensure that training is being delivered by competent trainers.
To see how the paediatric course differs from First Aid at Work courses then please see our comparison chart. It should be noted that when on a paediatric course all training should relate specifically to the injured/ill child.
For more information please visit www.pfaa.org.uk