Posted By Paul Kubecki
The best ones to use are the British Red Cross and St John Ambulance who are both HSE approved and have training centres in most parts of the country, prices etc are all on their web sites.

Posted By Amanda
Neil

In the past I have used HSE registered providers who do a course around the hazards in the workplace and not the standard St Johns or Red Cross package.
Dependant on the type of industry you are in you may need to consider this option. However if you are in a 'normal' (what is normal I heard the cry) St Johns or Red Cross is excellent.
If you require any further info drop me an email and I will sort out the contact details.

Posted By Simon Birks
I am FA trainer with a HSE approved company, be careful of individuals who say they are HSE approved as the HSE only approve organisations and not individuals, any training provider can also tailor the course to the client that’s why its FA at work as most work places are different, its just if they decide too.

But that’s not the reason for the post, I am a member of the Association of First Aiders and if you go to the site www.aofa.org/ the is a directory search facility for training providers in FA all over the country including HSE approved providers.

Gussy

Posted By DavidW
Hi Neil

I've used a number of providers for this training over the years and for me the best ones were ex paramedics who could relate things to real situations. St Johns and Red Cross etc are great for office environments but for me they focus too much on how the knot is tied and where it goes. I know an excellent chap nowwho does some training for me, ex Forces so doesn't mind what it looks like so long as it works. The best thing really though is to speak to some local companies that provide HSE approved training and ask them what experience they have, how can they relate to your working environment? I had one company in Kent who came out and looked around the factory before training our guys so they had an understanding of the potential problems they could be faced with. The feedback from those who attended was excellent

david

Posted By Christopher
Hi Neil

When choosing a training provider, make sure they understand the first aid issues that are likely to occur in your environment. For example if you work in engineering, you're talking about big machinery etc. It's all very well being able to deal with a cut in a classroom, but what to do if someone's sleeve gets caught in machinery, (yes it's happened to me, how would they deal with the potential issues likely to occur in this situation.

Ideally, they should review the type of common incidents and even the worst case scenarios.

What type of training materials are they using? Videos, volunteers etc.

I attended a course at Pershore College, in Evesham, and they have volunteers who do mock up scenarios. They vary the scenario so that it reflects the work environment of the person attending the course. There is a mock up scenario as part of the evaluation of how well you have taken on board the knowledge and are able to demonstrate how you would apply it.

As a former nurse I found some of the activities unnecessary, but the HSE require the provider to cover them in the course. If the course provider is any good, then the trainer will be experienced in applying the principles of first aid. Paramedics are excellent.