First Aid at Work Training: CPR, AED and Casualty Care

Introduction

When a colleague collapses, chokes or is badly cut, the minutes before professional help arrives decide the outcome, yet many workplaces rely on staff who have never practised CPR or controlled heavy bleeding. First aid at work depends on people who can check the scene, assess a casualty and act with confidence. This Core Concept course builds those skills for non-medical staff and appointed first aiders through manikin practice and timed casualty scenarios. Participants finish with a Workplace First Aid Cover Plan covering first aiders, kits, records and emergency calls.

Course Objectives

• Check a scene for danger, assess responsiveness and carry out a primary survey using the ABCDE approach
• Perform adult CPR with correct compression rate, depth and recoil and operate an AED with minimal pauses
• Manage choking, severe bleeding, shock, burns and bone or joint injuries until help arrives
• Recognise heart attack, stroke, diabetic emergency, seizure, asthma, anaphylaxis and heat illness and give the first response each requires
• Make a clear emergency call and hand over a casualty with an accurate verbal and written report
• Produce a Workplace First Aid Cover Plan based on a first aid needs assessment, kit checks and treatment records

Target Audience

• Employees without medical training who may be first on scene when a colleague is injured or taken ill
• Staff appointed as workplace first aiders or first aid contacts for a shift, floor or site
• Supervisors and team leaders responsible for people in offices, warehouses, workshops and field locations
• Coordinators who organise first aid cover, kits and treatment records alongside other duties
• Security, reception and facilities personnel who receive the first call about an injured person
• Staff working in remote or lone-working locations where professional help may take time to arrive

Course Outline

Day 1: First Aid Principles, Scene Safety and Casualty Assessment

• First Aid Aims: Preserve Life, Prevent Further Harm and Promote Recovery
• First Aider Role Boundaries, Consent and Glove and Hand Hygiene Practice
• Scene Safety Check Before Approaching a Casualty
• Responsiveness Check Using the Shout-Tap-Shout Method
• Emergency Call Script: Location, Casualty Condition and Dispatcher Questions

Day 2: Primary Survey, CPR and AED Use

• Primary Survey Using the ABCDE Approach
• Adult CPR Sequence: Compressions First, Then Rescue Breaths
• Chest Compression Quality: 100 to 120 per Minute, Depth and Full Recoil
• AED Operation: Pad Placement, Rhythm Analysis and Pauses Under 10 Seconds
• Recovery Position and Head-to-Toe Secondary Survey

Day 3: Choking, Bleeding, Shock, Burns and Bone Injuries

• Choking Management with Back Blows and Abdominal Thrusts
• Severe Bleeding Control with Direct Pressure and Wound Dressings
• Shock Recognition and Casualty Positioning
• Burn and Scald Care: Cooling, Covering and Chemical Splash Irrigation
• Fractures, Dislocations and Sprains: Immobilisation with Slings and Padding

Day 4: Head and Spinal Injuries and Medical Emergencies

• Head Injury, Concussion Signs and Suspected Spinal Injury Handling
• Heart Attack and Stroke Warning Signs: Chest Pain, One-Sided Weakness and Speech Changes
• Diabetic Emergencies, Seizures and Asthma Attacks
• Anaphylaxis Recognition and Assisting with an Adrenaline Auto-Injector
• Heat Exhaustion and Heatstroke First Response with Active Cooling

Day 5: Casualty Scenarios and the Workplace First Aid Cover Plan

• Timed Multi-Casualty Scenario Rotations on Manikins
• First Aid Needs Assessment Worksheet for a Participant's Workplace
• First Aid Kit Contents Check and Restocking Log
• Casualty Handover Report and First Aid Treatment Record Completion
• Workplace First Aid Cover Plan Drafting and Peer Review

Skills You Will Gain

• Casualty Assessment
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
• Defibrillator Operation
• Haemorrhage Control
• Airway Obstruction Relief
• Medical Emergency Recognition
• Casualty Handover Reporting
• First Aid Provision Planning

Why Attend This Course

• Return to work with a Workplace First Aid Cover Plan setting out first aiders, kit locations, records and call procedures for your site
• Practise compressions, AED pads and choking relief on manikins until the sequence comes without hesitation
• Stay calm in timed scenarios where several casualties need attention at once
• Compare first aid arrangements with staff from offices, industrial sites, retail and field operations

Conclusion

Workplace first aid works when people can act in the first minutes, not only when a trained first aider happens to be nearby. The course moves from first aid principles, scene safety and the emergency call, through the ABCDE primary survey, CPR and AED use, to choking, bleeding, burns, bone injuries and the common medical emergencies. The final day tests every skill in timed casualty scenarios and produces a Workplace First Aid Cover Plan that participants take back to their own workplace.