Tag Archives: first aid training

First Aid Training Safety: COVID-19

Introduction

We’re beyond happy to be back delivering our First Aid Training but we understand that there is still an exposure risk to COVID-19. The safety of our participants is our top priority which is why we’ve taken new measures to minimise cross contamination.

One of our mannequins set up with a face shield provided to further prevent contamination. This is one of many precautions to ensure safety during our First Aid Training courses. — One of our mannequins set up with a face shield provided to further prevent contamination.

Before the Course

A poly pocket containing the material required for the course will be made up for each participant.
All mannequins will be disinfected/sanitised before the course along with AEDs.
The equipment will be set up prior to the course starting so it can begin as soon as everyone has arrived.

During the Course

Each participant will have their own mannequin for the practical tasks and a face shield will be provided to cover the mannequin’s face as another precaution.
Participants will be asked in turns to place their used equipment in a designated area which will be collected by the trainer afterwards to maintain distance.
Any used equipment will be placed in a separate bag to prevent contamination with other equipment.
Hospital grade Trionic cleaning & disinfection wipes will be available throughout the duration of the course to sanitise equipment which will have a designated bag for disposal.

The Trionic hospital grade cleaning & disinfection wipes used throughout the course.

After the Course

Our trainers will bring home the equipment to be fully disinfected.
Mannequins will be sanitised with hospital grade Trionic cleaning & disinfection wipes as well as antiseptic disinfectant.
All used bandages will be soaked in disinfectant.
Any bags that contained used equipment will also be disinfected as well as the polly pockets.
The bag containing waste from the course will be disposed of appropriately.

To Conclude

The safety of everyone on our First Aid Training courses is our top priority and we are taking every precaution we see fit to minimise COVID-19 exposure risks and cross contamination. We ask that only those feeling well and showing no symptoms should attend our courses. We look forward to continuing to deliver First Aid training to our clients as safely as possible.

For more information on the training courses we have available currently, please click here to read our full post.

You can also read more about the Trionic wipes here.

First Aid training: COVID-19

Due to COVID-19, we have adapted our First Aid training courses as we are currently unable to carry out our usual face-to-face training courses. We understand that due to absence from work on account of illness, that sufficient cover may not be in place. For this reason, we’ve developed a blended learning course to enable people to be trained to ensure that all work places are fully compliant. It’s very important, now more than ever, that adequate First Aid cover is in place as ambulances may take longer.

The HSE has, however, issued a statement in regard to those who already hold a First Aid qualification. These will be now be valid for a further 6 months if their renewal date is from the 16th March 2020. This means that anyone due for renewal just now will still be able to carry out First Aid. For more information on this, please click here.

We have created 2 options of First Aid Training to choose from: Option A – EFAW course (Certificated Blended Learning) and Option B First Aid Learning Course (Online Theory).

Option A – EFAW course (Certificated Blended Learning)

Online Theory

Option A will cover all theory aspects of the Emergency First Aid at Work course with practical demonstrations given. The course will cover aspects of COVID-19 and how to safely treat anyone who may be suspected of having coronavirus. All candidates would be issued our standard workbook to be read prior to starting the course. The course will be delivered online by one of our accredited trainers.

The online section will last approximately 3 hours, covering all aspects of the EFAW Course including videos and demonstrations. As always, we would encourage lots of interaction from candidates.

Practical

This section will be carried out at the candidates place of work or another suitable venue, this has to be done face-to-face for the HSE to approve this qualification. This will last approximately an hour and a half with strict social distancing controls in place. Each session will be restricted to the number of people who can safely distance within the venue. Each candidate will be provided with their own mannequins and equipment to prevent risk of cross contamination.

To maintain hygiene standards, we’ve enhanced our cleaning regimes and our equipment will undergo hospital grade sterilisation using Trionic wipes. For more information on how we’re making our courses safer, please click here.

We would ask that only candidates who are well and showing no symptoms such as sneezing, coughing etc., attend this part of the training.

Assessment

This will be completed after the practical portion of the course and will be marked by the trainer at the time. Candidates who pass the assessment will be awarded with the Emergency First Aid at Work certificate, valid for 3 years.

Option B – First Aid Learning Course (Online Theory)

Online Theory

This will be delivered as per option A, stated above.

Assessment

Candidates will be issued an online assessment for completion which will be marked by the trainer. Successful completion of this would reward the candidate with a certificate in First Aid Learning.

Joining the course

Candidates will be emailed a link and joining instructions for the course. The course will be streamed live and can be viewed from a suitable mobile phone, tablet, laptop or PC.

Candidates will be required to download our video meeting software prior to the course. This is quick and easy to do.

We are constantly monitoring the current situation and will continue to send updates where applicable. Further information can be found by visiting our website: www.amalgamate-safety.com

If any of these First Aid training course options are of interest to you during COVID-19, or you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our training team on t: +44 (0)141 244 0181 or email: training@amalgamate-safety.com

Update: HSE Extension to the validity of First Aid qualifications due to coronavirus

The Health and Safety Executive have today announced that they will be offering a three-month extension to the validity of the following qualifications if the learner or Trainer/Assessor is unable to re-qualify because of the coronavirus.

This includes the following course:

This includes the following course:
First Aid at Work Emergency
First Aid at Work
Paediatric First Aid
Emergency Paediatric First Aid

This means that a Trainer/Assessor can continue delivering regulated qualifications in first aid for up to three months past the expiry of their current FAW or Paediatric certificate. This is also the case for learners who may be covering first aid within a workplace holding any of the qualifications stated above.

This means that a Trainer/Assessor can continue delivering regulated qualifications in first aid for up to three months past the expiry of their current FAW or Paediatric certificate.This is also the case for learners who may be covering first aid within a workplace holding any of the qualifications stated above.

The HSE will keep this situation under close review over the coming months and will issue further statements as necessary.

HSE statement in full

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is aware that people holding Offshore Medic (OM), Offshore First Aid (OFA), First Aid at Work (FAW) or Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) certificates nearing expiry date, might experience disruption to access to requalification training as a result of events or circumstances generated by the coronavirus pandemic.

HSE’s current guidance on the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981: https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l74.pdf and the Offshore Installations and Pipeline Works (First-Aid) Regulations 1989 https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l123.pdf is that those holding an OM, OFA, FAW or EFAW qualification should undertake retraining before their original certificate expires and HSE strongly recommends that employers, and individuals holding those qualifications should plan for requalification training well in advance of expiry dates.

If however requalification training is prevented for reasons associated directly with coronavirus or by complying with related government advice, it is reasonable and practical to extend the validity of current certificates by up to 3 months. Anyone taking advantage of this extension should be able to describe clearly their reasons for delaying requalification training, and demonstrate steps they have taken to undertake the training, if required.

This guidance comes into effect for certificates expiring on or after 16^th March 2020. HSE will review this matter over the coming months and will issue further statements as necessary.

We will keep you informed of any updates as soon as we hear them. If you have any questions or need any additional information then please do not hesitate to contact us on t. +44 (0) 141 244 0181 or e. training@amalgamate-safety.com

For further information on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and First Aid Training click here…

Making our First Aid training courses safer.

During the current outbreak COVID-19, we want to reassure all of our clients that we are taking all possible precautions whilst still providing essential first aid training. We want to ensure that our clients have no doubts as to how we will be doing this and have put together a 10-step process that will be used in each of our training courses.

During the course induction, our trainers will use medical device and equipment disinfectant wipes (e.g. Trionic) on classroom surfaces. We will also check all learners and exclude anyone that exhibits COVID-19 symptoms: continuous cough/temperature.

We will also check that no learner is in a situation where they should be self-isolating e.g a family member with symptoms in the last 14 days or from an “at risk group“. We will exclude those learners as necessary.

On arrival, each learner will be required to thoroughly sanitise their hands with either hand gel or an alcohol wipe that we will provide. They will be instructed that if they need to cough/sneeze it should be done into a tissue which is promptly disposed of and their hands re-sanitised. If they have no tissues available, they will be instructed to do this into a bent elbow, which is better than into a hand/fist, and never to cough/sneeze without covering their mouth and nose.

Note: This will be monitored closely by the trainers and the group will be encouraged to maintain this standard throughout.

All learners will be shown the below videos on how COVID-19 spreads; and

How to properly wash their hands.

It will be clearly explained to all learners that they should refrain from touching their mouth, nose or eyes unless they have just washed their hands or have sanitised. We will explain which methods we have available on that course for them to sanitise their hands (e.g. hand gel or alcohol wipes) and where they can wash their hands with water and soap.

The biggest risk of contamination by far is from people to people through germination on hands. Before we begin the CPR practice, this will be explained to the learners as well as all the protections we have put in place to prevent infection during CPR practice. The measures include:

The measures include:

Frequently replacing lungs/airways/valves;
One way valves to stop air coming back out of the manikin mouth;
Alcohol/sanitising wipes between learners; and
Anti-surfactant wipe (e.g. Trionic wipes) after each session (removes any bio-film as well as killing germs).

These steps alone are sufficient to prevent infection and that is all that is normally used on our first aid courses, which has been approved as sufficient by the Health and Safety Executive and NHS Consultant Microbiologists.

However, in the current climate, we will also be issuing each learner their own personal CPR face shield to provide a double fail-safe.

Learners will be instructed on how to correctly use the face shield each time. This includes gently tucking the filter part of the shield into the manikin’s mouth helps keep it in place, they will still nip the nose as usual through the face shield.

Between each learner, alcohol/sanitising wipes will be used on the manikin face as well as the forehead and chest where hands are placed (to prevent hand to surface/surface to hand contamination).

Learners will be split into small groups, where they will have use of the same manikin all through the course to prevent the possibility of course-wide infection spread.

At the end of every theory session, learners will be asked to sanitise or wash their hands. Before and after each practical session, learners will be asked to sanitise or wash their hands.

Please click here for further updates on our first aid courses.

COVID-19: First Aid Training Update

As you will be aware, the UK Government have issued further advice for the public and workplaces in relation to COVID-19. The government has advised against ‘social gatherings’ and for people to work from home ‘where possible’. Also the advice for those who should self-isolate has been increased.

Our current advice is that first aid training is not a ‘social gathering’. It is essential training that is needed by workplaces, particularly when it is not possible for staff to work from home.

The government advice is changing on a daily basis but here are some things we as your training provider are doing as we stand right now:

First aid training is essential training that is needed particularly by workplaces where it is not possible for staff to work from home, and particularly when there are severely extended ambulance response times due to the crisis. As such it is NOT a ‘social gathering’;
Our class sizes can be reduced to minimise risk of infection. The main risk of infection in regard to COVID-19 is with people to people or people to surface contact rather than people to mannequin;
We have implemented this 10 step plan to ensure hospital-grade infection prevention and control on our training courses. To view this plan please click here

We will also include the teaching of COVID-19 infection prevention and control at the beginning of our training courses.

At present our training team is operational. We will continue to support our clients with their essential training needs.

Amalgamate will continue to monitor all current developments and provide regular updates. If you would like any more information in regard to this, please do not hesitate to contact our training team on +44 (0)141 244 0181

How to get involved in World Restart a Heart Day

Amalgamate are delighted to be supporting World Restart a Heart Day on the 16th October 2019, here are some ways you can get involved too.

Restart a Heart Day - 16th October 2019 — Are you ready to Restart a Heart?

Running Sessions

The British Heart Foundation has various ways of getting yourself, your community, work or school involved.

If you want to attend or volunteer to assist in the running of a session near you, you can contact them on their website – and search for Restart A Heart. If you want to run your very own session, they have everything you could possibly need in order to do so.

British Heart Foundation support

Check out the BHF website which breaks down everything that you need, how to use everything and provides you with free materials: posters, social media templates and certificates. They also help you in obtaining the training mannequins necessary for teaching CPR.

How to organise you own event

You can find out more about organising your own RSAH session by chatting to your regional contact, organised by the BHF here – www.resus.org.uk/events/rsah or how Amalgamate can help deliver a RSAH session for you?

Get in touch

If you need support hosting your WRSAD event get in touch by calling +44 (0)141 244 0181 or email training@amalgamate-safety.com

Why is it is important get involved in World Restart a Heart Day?

World Restart a Heart Day

As we approach World Restart a Heart Day on the 16th October 2019. The British Heart Foundation has published figures showing that around 30,000 people will have an out-of-hospital heart attack, and therefore will be reliant on the public to assist them until they receive help from the emergency services. It could come as a shock that, despite such a high number of these incidents, less than 1 in 10 of these people will survive.

Part of the reason for such a low survival rate is a lack of bystander intervention. Lack of knowledge or understanding of what to do has resulted in the average Joe only giving CPR in 1 out of 5 incidents.

Surviving an out-of-hospital heart attack

Various factors can play a part in the outcome of someone surviving an out-of-hospital heart attack – especially the public’s knowledge of life-saving skills. In fact, performing early CPR (with use of an AED) can more than double those numbers – as shown in other European countries where the survival rate is more than 1 in 4.

The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives have suggested that the UK could achieve the same survival rates as other European countries like Norway (who are currently sitting at a 25% survival rate). They estimate this to mean that 100 more people could be saved per week, roughly resulting in more than 5,000 people per year.

Teaching CPR – The missing factor

Teaching of CPR is the important factor missing in the UK. Although we are required by law to have a first aider in every workplace, we are rarely taught CPR anywhere else. There are an increasing number of European countries that require citizens to complete a First Aid course in order to obtain their drivers license. This mandate has resulted in higher numbers of the population knowing CPR, which has a domino effect on how many people step up to help those who need it.

Further Support

Amalgamate are delighted to be supporting World Restart a Heart Day. You can find out more about organising your own RSAH session by chatting to your regional contact, organised by the BHF here – www.resus.org.uk/events/rsah or please contact us on: t. +44 (0)141 244 0181 or e. training@amalgamate-safety.com

Amalgamate are supporting World Restart A Heart Day!

What will we be doing?

Going back to school

We are super excited to be taking part in World Restart a Heart Day this year and have booked in as many sessions as we can handle.

This week Amalgamate are going back school at Saint Matthews Academy in Saltcoats and St Benedict’s Roman Catholic High School in Linwood. We will be teaching as many of the kids and staff the basic skills of CPR. Both schools have been incredible in their push to educate their kids in real life skills. This includes Emergency First Aid at Work courses for their 6th year students and we are thrilled to be assisting them in that endeavour.

European Events

Our trainers will also be travelling outside the UK and teaming up with one of our clients, an American multinational computer software company headquartered in San Jose and will be running Restart a Heart Day’s in a number of their key European locations. That means we will be travelling to Munich, Hamburg, Edinburgh and Warsaw the week beginning 14th October.

Our sessions kick off on the 8th of October and we will be teaching until the 18th and the training team are going to be very busy but thrilled to be taking part in something we are all passionate about.

If you would like to get involved in World Restart a Heart Day or would like further information about our first aid courses, you can contact us on t. +44 (0)141 244 0181 or e. info@amalgamate-safety.com