Please see below for the latest information on Covid-19
Covid 19 First Aid Guidance
First Aid Certification:
First Aid certificates (FAW, EFAW & Paediatric) that have expired since the 16th March 2020 have been extended for up to three months by the HSE and Dept for Ed.
You must still carry out a first aid needs assessment with any current changes to your situation and ensure that you maintain sufficient cover for the number of people and level of risk.
Carrying out CPR during the Pandemic:
The following advice comes from the UK Resuscitation Council and full details can be found here: https://www.resus.org.uk/media/statements/resuscitation-council-uk-statements-on-covid-19-coronavirus-cpr-and-resuscitation/covid-community/
Adult CPR:
There is an increased risk at the present time of cross infection between the responder and the casualty. The majority of this risk comes from carrying out mouth to mouth ventilations. The latest guidance for adult CPR is to do the following:
Child CPR:
We are aware that paediatric cardiac arrest is unlikely to be caused by a cardiac problem and is more likely to be a respiratory one, making ventilations crucial to the child’s chances of survival. However, for those not trained in paediatric resuscitation, the most important thing is to act quickly to ensure the child gets the treatment they need in the critical situation.
It is likely that the child/infant having an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest will be known to you. We accept that doing rescue breaths will increase the risk of transmitting the COVID-19 virus, either to the rescuer or the child/infant. However, this risk is small compared to the risk of taking no action as this will result in certain cardiac arrest and the death of the child.
General First Aid Guidance:
If you are carrying out first aid on a member of your own household then the risk of you catching the Covid-19 virus is pretty irrelevant, if they have it, then so do you!
If you are carrying out first aid on somebody who is not a household contact then you should follow the advice from the European Resuscitation Council:
Following completion of first aid treatment, it is essential to:
Certificate Extensions
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the HSE have released a statement regarding a further extension to First Aid at Work and Emergency First Aid at Work certificate validity:
First Aid at Work (FAW) and Emergency First aid at Work (EFAW) certificates requalification
First aid providers have resumed first aid training and assessment. In some cases, there remains a back log or limited availability.
FAW or EFAW certificates that expired after 16 March 2020 can remain valid until 31 October 2020 or 6 months from date of expiry, whichever is later. All requalification training for these certificates should be completed by 31 March 2021.
To qualify for the extension, employers must be able to demonstrate that:
This guidance now applies to employers in England, Scotland and Wales.