First Aid Legislation
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If you are in a workplace then your employer has a legal responsibility to ensure that first aid provision is available under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and in particular the First Aid Regulations (1981) which ‘require employers to provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure their employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work’.
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‘Teachers and other staff working with pupils and students are expected to use their best endeavours at all times, particularly in emergencies, to secure the welfare of the pupils and students in education in the same way that parents might be expected to act towards their children’.
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‘At least one person who has a current paediatric first aid (PFA) certificate must be on the premises and available at all times when children are present and must accompany children on outings’.
Whilst children are eating there should always be a member of staff in the room with a valid paediatric first aid certificate for a full course consistent with the criteria set out in Annex A. This is of particular importance for incidences of choking, allergic reactions and Anaphylaxis.
Medicine (both prescription and non-prescription) must only be administered to a child where written permission for that particular medicine has been obtained from the child’s parent and/or carer. Providers must keep a written record each time a medicine is administered to a child and inform the child’s parents and/or carers on the same day the medicine has been taken, or as soon as reasonably practicable.
Accident or injury. Providers must ensure a first aid box with appropriate items for use on children is always accessible. Providers must keep a written record of accidents or injuries and first aid treatment. Providers must inform parents and/or carers of any accident or injury sustained by the child on the same day as, or as soon as reasonably practicable after, and of any first aid treatment given.