Basic life support and first aid

One lady with a mannequin talking to a female nurse

First aid is an important part of training in social care, including basic life support as part of inductions.

The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 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. These regulations apply to all workplaces including those with less than five employees and to the self-employed. It’s the employer’s responsibility to determine how many people need training and to what level.

For Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulated providers, ensuring the appropriate first aid training for all staff helps comply with the Fundamental Standards.

You’ll need to assess the appropriate level of first aid expertise required and ensure people are appropriately trained. Workplaces where there are more significant health and safety risks are more likely to need trained first aiders.

Induction

Standard 12 of the Care Certificate, the standards for new staff in health and social care roles, focuses on basic life support.

We have practical resources and workbooks to help you to implement the Care Certificate as part of induction.

Find out more about the Care Certificate.

Guidelines on resuscitation

The Resuscitation Council (UK) exists to promote high-quality, scientific, resuscitation guidelines that are applicable to everybody, and to contribute to saving life through education, training, research and collaboration.

Lone workers safety guidance

Domiciliary care is an area of work where a large proportion of staff work alone. By providing appropriate first aid equipment, you can help your staff and the people they care for. This guidance is strongly recommended to anybody who works alone.

Finding high quality learning and development

We can help you choose the right learning and the right provider for you.

Our ‘Guide to developing your staff’ can help you plan, select and evaluate the right learning for your staff and service.

We can also help you to find high quality learning providers. Skills for Care Endorsement finds and badges learning providers who we see as the best. Our endorsed providers deliver high quality learning and development to the social care sector.

Search for endorsed providers in our online directory.