Practice makes perfect

I did my First Aid at Work (FAW) course about 4 ½ years ago and in that time I have treated one person at work. I've treated many more outside of work with St John Ambulance, but only one at work. Admittedly I treated her twice in the space of two days for completely unrelated things, but two incidents in that time is not a lot. Most of the other first aiders I know at work have treated a similar number.

That doesn’t mean I propose more people at work should get injured (although as a civil servant it's often tempting), it means that to me it's apparent there would be a significant amount of skills fade over that time. From passing the initial assessment, it's three years before the first aider next needs to be assessed

I have no doubt that the FAW students would do a fantastic job if someone collapsed in front of them as they came out the assessment centre. They would be probably do a great job if it happened a week later, a month later, maybe even six months later. But what about a year later or three years later? Would they still be competent then?

I am keen runner and I try to get out as often as I can but if I go a couple weeks without running then I really notice it when I do hit the streets again. I did a course on defence acquisition two years ago during my previous job but if you were to ask me any questions on it, I would probably struggle to answer them. The reality is that any ability, skill or knowledge you have will start to fade if it is not used.

So what benefit does the FAW qualification provide? In my place of work there are several first aiders who don’t seem to know one end of a bandage from the other, and some who can never remember the ratio of chest compressions to rescue breaths during cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). These are fairly basic skills. To be quite honest, these people are not up to scratch and it would be better for my employer just to provide a first aid kit. Let people sort themselves out if injured rather than rely on someone else. I would rather be treated by someone who knew they weren't competent than someone who mistakenly thought they were.

So do employers now need to have a staggered programme of when their first aiders qualify just so there are at least some competent ones at any given point in time? Should employers ensure that at least one member of staff gets injured each week just to make sure that first aiders get plenty practice?

I personally think that if the FAW qualification is to be of any benefit, rather than just another tick-in-the-box exercise to meet yet another government target, the assessments should be changed to being held every year. Three years is simply too long. Employers should be encouraged to provide additional training to their first aiders if only to ensure they do not forget what they have already learnt.

Perhaps a Continuing Professional Development scheme could be put in place so first aiders don’t allow their training to go to waste. Setting up an online system so that every few months they have to answer some questions would at least keep them thinking about first aid.

It’s important that when the time comes and someone in the office actually becomes ill or gets injured, at least the first aider would remember what to do without having to hesitate.