SOVRIN First Aid and Health & Safety Training

There have been many reports of Health & Safety Executive (HSE), and health and safety law, being responsible for banning all sorts of things. For example, flip flops at work, knitting in hospitals, school sports days, a charity Christmas swim and even cuddly toys on dustbin lorries.

Actually, HSE has banned very little outright, apart from a very few high-risk exceptions (e.g. asbestos which kills over 5,000 individuals a year). HSE believes that health and safety should be about taking practical steps to manage real risks, not bureaucracy leading to the banning of everyday activities.

The HSE, in association with the British Insurance Brokers Association and Businesslink have developed a self assessment tool designed to show businesses how well they are handling health and safety.

Good health and safety practice can have a positive impact on your insurance claims and also improves your reputation with customers, the local community and your employees.

The tool will; help you to understand how well you identify and manage health and safety hazards, provide you with targeted guidance to help you improve your management of health and safety and enable you to compare your performance with other businesses across sectors and sizes.

The assessment should take around 30 minutes to complete. If you don't have the time to complete it now, you can save your answers online and return later. For further information visit:

Now the summer holidays are well underway, many businesses will be taking on students as temporary workers, it should be remembered that those young people will not be familiar with the risks in the workplace. Points to be considered when employing young people:

All people are at particular risk of injury in the first six months of a job as they may be unaware of existing or potential risks. Young people will frequently be in this category.

Young people may lack experience or maturity or may be unaware of how to raise concerns.

They may not have reached physical maturity and therefore lack the strength demanded.

For more information about employing young people (including “Work Experience”) visit the HSE website

Work-related skin disease can affect people in a wide range of occupations. The HSE website has detailed advice showing how the APC approach (avoid, protect, check) can reduce the chances of suffering painful and sometimes debilitating skin conditions.

There is basic, practical advice for employers, employees and trainees on what skin diseases are, what causes them and how to prevent them.

For occupational health workers whether, an occupational health nurse or physician, a health and safety professional or a trainer there is more in-depth technical information, together with links to research and training tools. There is also a page for health and safety inspectors.Extensive media resources are available, including press releases, case studies and statistics.

The HSE have issued the provisional fatal injury statistics for 2007/2008. Overall there were 228 fatal injuries in the workplace, which equates to 0.75 per 100,000 workers. The industrial sectors with the highest injury rates are construction and agriculture, combined accounting for half the total fatalities.

‘Make a change. Make a difference’ is the message for this year's Child Safety Week running from 23-29 June. Organised by national children's charity the Child Accident Prevention Trust, Child Safety Week is marked by thousands of local events where families can have fun and learn about safety. There will be quizzes and competitions, safety demonstrations and checks, in-store promotions, advice from local experts and free information to take away.

While accident rates are falling, 2,000 children are still admitted to hospital every week. Katrina Phillips, chief executive of Child Accident Prevention Trust says: "Many serious accidents could be prevented by parents making simple changes - whether it's driving more slowly where children are out playing, fitting and checking smoke alarms, getting their gas boiler serviced, keeping electrical items out of the bathroom, or moving hot drinks or cleaning products out of children's reach.

"If parents know what's likely to injure their child and are reminded how risks change as youngsters grow up, they are in a better position to avoid a harrowing trip to hospital."

Key facts
* Accidents in the home are the biggest cause of injuries to children under five
* More than 30,000 under fives are rushed to casualty each year after falling down a flight of stairs
* Hot drinks are the number one cause of scald injuries among young children
* Around 70 children under 5 end up in A & E every day as a result of suspected poisoning in the bathroom
* Fire is one of the biggest killers of children in the home
* Road accidents are responsible for half of accidental deaths in childhood
The charity is encouraging families to look out for Child Safety Week events locally and to visit its website http://www.capt.org.uk for useful safety hints and tips.

The Food Standards Agency has revised its guidance on clear labelling for food packaging.
The Agency consulted more than 1200 stakeholders' organisations about the labelling guidance it issued in 2002. The revised guidance reflects concerns that some of the existing labels containing information about food content are too small for many people – particularly those who are elderly or who have visual impairments.
'One of consumers' concerns about labelling are whether they can easily find the information they feel they need. The FSA's revised guidance encourages food manufacturers to provide information in a way that is clear and legible,’ said Stephen Pugh, head of the Food Labelling Branch at the Food Standards Agency.
In the revised guidance, the Agency suggests using black type on a white background and retains the suggestion that manufacturers should use at least 8 point font size for essential information, especially when safety is concerned.
The new guidance comes as the European Union is looking into ways of improving clarity throughout the EU, including addressing the issue of font size. The Agency has recently consulted on this proposal.

Plasters and children are one of the most common questions posed by clients concerned they are not allowed to apply sticking plasters to children. The many myths surrounding this subject, are the result of personal opinions of well meaning but often misguided individuals. There has never been any regulation requiring teachers or carers to obtain parental permission before placing a sticking plaster on an injured child in their care.

In an attempt to dispel this myth, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), have issued the following statement, ‘There is no rule that says a responsible adult can’t put a plaster on a child's minor cut. Some children do have an allergy to latex in normal plasters; using them can cause a rash but is not serious. If you know a child is allergic you can use the Hypo-allergenic type of plaster. The important thing is to clean and cover the cut to stop it getting infected.’

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have announced the proposed changes to first aid at work (FAW) training will be implemented in October 2009.

Employers will be able to decide- dependant on their own assessment of the risks, which level of training is most suitable for their place of work. The HSE will, nearer the time, issue detailed guidance to assist employers. Existing FAW certificates (4 day and 2 day course) will be honoured.

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 is a landmark in law. For the first time, companies and organisations can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter as a result of serious management failures resulting in a gross breach of a duty of care.

The Act, which will come into force on 6 April 2008, clarifies the criminal liabilities of companies including large organisations where serious failures in the management of health and safety result in a fatality.

Small and medium sized business in Wales can benefit from the new Workboost Wales pilot service. Workboost Wales offers tailored advice and help on workplace health, safety and return-to-work issues. All advice given and visits are confidential, impartial and free.

Workboost Wales is available to businesses in Wales with between 5 and 250 employees.
Along with telephone advice, Workboost Wales provides free workplace visits to help solve problems.

It aims to transfer knowledge and skills direct to managers and workers, enabling them to tackle and solve any future workplace health issues themselves.

The pilot runs from the beginning of March 2008 to the end of March 2009. Workboost Wales is a partnership between the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) and WAG (Welsh Asembly Government).

You can get in touch with Workboost Wales by calling the Workboost Wales Enquiry Line on 0845 609 6006 or by visiting the Workboost Wales website

According to recent figures released by the HSE, every 25 minutes a worker in the UK will suffer a broken bone, Every week one person will die as a result of a slip, trip or fall in the workplace. Slips, trips and falls account for one third of all serious injuries reported to the HSE and it is estimated that these injuries cost society £818 million every year.

The HSE have recently launched their Shattered Lives campaign which will offer support and guidance top employers and employees in the building, construction, plant maintenance and food manufacturing and retail industries, the sectors with the highest incidence of slip, trip or fall injuries.

The HSE have developed a series of information pages on their website, designed to assist new and existing business’s in dealing with their health and safety obligations. The jargon free information is broken down into 4 sectors, and explains; what you should know, what you must do, how to judge your health and safety, and general advice and guidance.

The information is ideal for new start ups or managers who wish to improve health and safety in their workplace.

We are running an open CIEH Professional Trainer Course (Train the Trainer) on Tuesday 25th to Thursday 27th March 2008, in Holyhead, Anglesey. Further information about the course can be found at the link below.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a safety alert aimed at homeowners, tenants, landlords and the plumbing industry following two strikingly similar fatal incidents in the last four years where a large volume of near boiling water poured through bedroom ceilings onto occupants sleeping below.

The purpose of the alert is to raise awareness of a rare but potentially serious scalding risk from domestic hot water systems which include a fixed all-electric or part-electric immersion heater in conjunction with a plastic cold water storage cistern or ‘tank’ located in the roof space.

Homeowners and landlords should pay particular consideration to those systems over ten years old, or where they may have concerns over the quality of the installation or repair work carried out.

An overheating immersion cylinder will normally show warning signs so serious incidents are likely to be extremely rare. There are also a number of steps that can be taken to reduce the risk:

The risk is greatest when cisterns are located above bedrooms. This is most likely in houses built between 1945 and 1975. Often these homes have, or used to have, a back boiler. If the cylinder is located in a bedroom it is probable that the cistern may be directly above it. Whenever a galvanised (metal) cistern is replaced by a plastic one, the thermostat to the immersion heater should be examined and preferably replaced by one with a safety cut-out.

Specific information on British Standards for domestic cisterns and advice on warning signs, such as excessive noise coming from the hot water system, are included in the alert.

The HSE have issued a paper outlining future changes to first aid at work training that will affect employers and workplace first aiders. The paper extends to 10 pages and contains a considerable amount of technical information, we have therefore summarised the main points.

The date for implementation of the changes, which has yet to be announced, will not be within the next 12 months.

The current 4 day course will be reduced to 3 days (FAW), and 1 day emergency first aid in the workplace (EFAW) training courses will become regulated.

When the new courses are introduced (possibly early 2009, but the exact timing will depend on the outcome of the work described in the paper), employers will be able to send prospective first aiders on either:

Selecting the appropriate course will depend on the circumstances of the workplace and will be informed by the findings of the employer’s first aid needs assessment. HSE will issue revised guidance for employers to help them decide which course is suitable. A three year certificate will be issued to those who successfully complete an FAW or EFAW course. During any three year certification period, first aiders should undertake annual (half day) refresher training to update their basic skills. At the end of this period, it will be necessary to requalify.

We will endeavour to keep our existing clients updated, however, as always please feel free to contact us to discuss the changes if you wish.

November 2007 Workers Banned from Putting Up Christmas Decorations in the Office!

Bah Humbug! Each year there are stories of companies banning their workers from putting up Christmas decorations in offices for ‘health and safety’ reasons, or requiring the work to be done by a ‘qualified’ person.

Most organisations including the HSE and local councils manage to put up their decorations, celebrating the spirit of Christmas without a fuss. They just sensibly provide their staff with suitable step ladders to put up decorations rather than expecting staff to balance on wheelie chairs.

In order to dispel this common myth the HSE have issued advice and guidance on the subject which can be found on their web site: http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/nov07.htm

The following are open courses planned for the year 2008. The courses are to be held on Anglesey on the dates shown. Please feel free to contact us for further details.

Tuesday 22nd January to Friday 25th January 2008
Tuesday 13th April to Friday 16th April 2008
Tuesday 19th August to Friday 22nd August 2008
Tuesday 11th November to Friday 14th November 2008

Thursday 7th and Friday 8th February 2008
Thursday 17th and Friday 18th April 2008
Thursday 26th and Friday 27th June 2008
Thursday 11th and Friday 12th September 2008
Thursday 20th and Friday 21st November 2008

Health & Safety Event, Reebok Stadium, Bolton 10th & 11th October 2007, a free event with many interesting seminars and large exhibitions. Seminars include, manual handling, working at heights, PPE, noise protection.

The HSE have recently launched a campaign to cut the number of injuries as a result of falls from vehicles in the workplace. Many falls from vehicles occur during loading and unloading – you don’t have to fall far to land hard. The HSE website contains further information on the campaign and advice for workers, managers and vehicle buyers on how to reduce the risk of falls.

August 2007 UK First Aid Conference 2007

Coton House Conference Centre, Rugby, 7th - 9th September 2007.
The conference is run by UK First Aid Ltd / Focus on First Aid magazine.

Launching the latest work related fatal injury statistics today Health and Safety Commission (HSC) Chair Sir Bill Callaghan said the loss of 241 lives is unacceptable and issued a fresh challenge to industry to place safety at the top of its priorities and do more to protect the work force.

"Ignore the trivia and headline-grabbing bans, and keep a sense of proportion when it comes to risk" said Health & Safety Commission (HSC) Chairman Bill Callaghan speaking to members of the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) recently.

"According to some stories, health and safety is a millstone around the neck of Britain, concentrating on trivial risks and petty bureaucracy to the detriment of citizens. It bans everything from doormats to Christmas decorations and makes children wear goggles while enjoying a game of conkers."

June 2007 The Food Standards Agency has issued some timely advice on barbeques

When you're barbecuing, the biggest risk of food poisoning is from raw and undercooked meat.

Bugs such as E.coli O157, salmonella and campylobacter can cause serious illness. But you can steer clear of food poisoning by taking some simple steps.

June 2007 HSE to remove 4000 'dodgy' ladders through a 'ladder exchange'

HSE are to remove 4000 'dodgy' ladders through a 'ladder exchange.' Every month nearly 100 people fall of a ladder at work and suffer serious injuries costing the economy £60million each year. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will promote ladder safety messages through a 'ladder exchange’, which aims to remove 4000 'dodgy' ladders from workplaces in Great Britain.

H7N2 is a low pathogenic strain of avian flu. It is different to the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain currently circulating in South East Asia, and in Europe last year. In almost all human cases to date, H7N2 infection has generally been associated with a mild disease. The risk to the general public is considered to be very low.

The virus does not transmit easily to humans. Worldwide, almost all human H7N2 infections documented so far, including those associated with this most recent incident, have been associated with infected poultry.

Contrary to popular belief the HSE have not banned stepladders and to combat this myth the HSE have now published more information.

When looking to ensure their people are appropriately training in Health and Safety, many employers, particularly SMEs, are confused by the mass of health and safety occupational standards and training courses. They struggle to clearly understand the differences between the different programmes and this has discouraged their uptake and leads some employers to question their real value. The overall impact is that some employees are not receiving essential training in basic health and safety in the work place. Furthermore, the inability to make valid comparisons reduces the mobility of labour as employers cannot easily judge whether potential employees have appropriate knowledge in this key area.

The HSE have revised their information regarding skin care in the workplace. Contact Dermatitis is a skin problem you can get at work. If you are an employer, safety representative, trainer or safety adviser you can influence work practice and prevent this disabling disease.

Sovrin Trainings work to promote health and well being on Anglesey has been recognised by the Anglesey Health Alliance. An Anglesey Health Challenge plaque has been awarded to Sovrin in recognition of the voluntary work carried out in support of the Isle of Anglesey County Council and other bodies at health and safety events open to the public, which are regularly held throughout the island.

Events are held where members of the public can obtain help and advice from a number of agencies including the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, Environmental Health Department, Trading Standards Department, Anglesey Health Board and North Wales Police.

Sovrin gives first aid demonstrations and advice at these events, where people can learn the emergency first aid treatment for anything from a splinter to a heart attack, from qualified instructors.

Jackie Southworth of Sovrin Training said “At these events, school children seem to particularly like the demonstrations of CPR –more commonly known as mouth to mouth, which they can practice on the day on the resuscitation mannequins. The more mature visitors tend to be most interested in the initial treatment of heart attacks and strokes. The events keep us on our toes, especially when you have a school class of 20+ 7 and 8 year olds firing questions at you.”

The FSB and HSE will be hosting a FREE event on Thursday 22 February 2007 at Tre-Ysgawen Hall, Llangefni, Anglesey between 9:30am and 1:30pm, lunch and refreshments are provided free of charge.

You’ll hear how the Welsh Backs Campaign can add ££££s to your bottom line.

SOVRIN Training are pleased to support the Health Challenge Anglesey being run by the Isle of Anglesey County Councils Environmental Health Department as part of Health challenge Wales. The Anglesey Health Challenges encourages everyone on the island - individuals, businesses, the media and other organisations to live healthier, more fulfilling and active lives.

The main aims of the project are to assist in avoiding accidents and injuries, quitting smoking, healthy eating and getting fit, sensible drinking, drug misuse and more.

For further information visit: http://www.anglesey.gov.uk/health or contact: Luned Gwyn Parry, Health Promotion Facilitator, Isle of Anglesey County Council, Llangefni, LL77 7TW, telephone 01248 752 837

The following are open courses planned for the year 2007. The courses are planned to be held at Gaerwen, Anglesey on the dates shown. Please feel free to contact us for further details.

Tuesday 23rd January to Friday 26th January 2007
Tuesday 24th April to Friday 27th April 2007
Tuesday 3rd July to Friday 6th July 2007
Tuesday 25th September to Friday 28th September 2007
Thursday 27th November to Friday 30th November 2007

Thursday 15th and Friday 16th February 2007
Thursday 14th and Friday 15th June 2007
Thursday 11th and Friday 12th October 2007

A total of 2.2 million work days were lost in Wales in the last year (2005/2006) due to illness or injury which averages 2 full days lost for every worker.

November 2006 Latest HSE statistics on work related health and safety in Great Britain 2005/2006.

212 died and almost ½ million injured in the workplace. 30 million work days lost. 1344 health & safety prosecutions.

October 2006 SOVRIN Training become North Wales only provider of QCA / DELLS / FAQ accredited first aid training courses

SOVRIN Training have become the only training provider in North Wales to deliver first aid training courses accredited with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and the Welsh Assembly’s Department of Lifelong Learning (DELLS).

SOVRIN are able to provide training courses, which are nationally recognised qualifications in Emergency First Aid for the Workplace, Basic First Aid, Sports First Aid and Paediatric First Aid.

These vocational qualifications are eligible for funding under Sec 96 and/or Sec 97 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 and are eligible to be used to qualify candidates taking ESF and SME funded programmes.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 comes into effect from 1st October 2006.

The main effect of the changes will be a move towards greater emphasis on fire prevention in all non-domestic premises, including the voluntary sector and self-employed people with premises separate from their homes.
Fire certificates will be abolished and will cease to have legal status.

We are now able to offer training courses in the following subjects:
First Aid, including HSE approved first aid at work FAW, paediatric first aid, emergency first aid for the workplace EFAW, basic life support, AED, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation CPR
Food Hygiene/Safety, accredited by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health CIEH at levels 2, 3 and 4 (formerly known as foundation, intermediate and advanced)
Health and Safety, courses included Introduction to health and safety, conflict resolution and personal safety, manual handling, risk assessment, stress awareness, intermediate health and safety.
Professional Trainer Certificate, commonly known as trainer the trainer course, accredited by the CIEH and ideal for in house trainers.

Although we can deliver any of the courses as in house training anywhere throughout the UK our main area of operation is North Wales and North West England. If you are based in or near the following places why not contact us for a competitive quote; Holyhead, Llangefni, Beaumaris, Menai Bridge, Bangor, Caernarfon, Llanberis, Conway, Llandudno, Colwyn Bay, Porthmadoc, Pwllheli, Capel Curig, Betws-y-Coed, Llanrwst, Abergele, Rhyl, Prestatyn, Ruthin, St Asaph, Llangollen, Chester, Birkenhead, Liverpool, Corwen, Wrexham, Lleyn, Snowdonia, Beddgelert, Ynys Mon

We are pleased to announce SOVRIN have recently been approved as a registered training provider for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and can now provide the following CIEH training courses:

Anglesey Wednesday 20th June 2006. More than 100 local business people gathered at TreYsgawen Hall, to attend a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) seminar, designed to highlight the dangers of working at heights. The event, part of the HSEs “Height Aware” campaign is a road show touring the UK and enables delegates to acquire up to date knowledge of the latest best practice and regulations regarding safe working at height and an opportunity to view the latest safety equipment.

HSE statement to clarify the relationship between HSE and the First Aid at Work Council. It also provides HSE’s current position on the future of approval and monitoring of training providers and the introduction of new first aid at work training courses

Certificate extensions (‘dispensations’)
This note is relevant to employers, first aiders in the workplace and training organisations offering first aid at work courses. It updates current guidance in paragraph 53 of the Approved Code of Practice and Guidance - First aid at work: The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 (L74), and paragraph 19 of Appendix 1 in the guidance for first aid training providers – The training of first aid at work: A guide to gaining and maintaining HSE approval (HSG212). L74 and HSG212 will be amended as appropriate when reprinted. HSE has consulted on this issue with the management board of the First Aid at Work Council

The Resuscitation Council UK has issued a statement to clarify the 2005 changes to the Paediatric BLS guidance issued in November 2005.

The Resus Council has revised its advice on AEDs and suggests although At present there is no statutory legal requirement under English and Welsh law to provide a defibrillator, but liability may arise under common law for failure to take adequate safeguards to protect the public present at a facility.

First aid provision for the public
During the years 2002-2004, HSE’s Infoline received over 20,000 enquiries on first aid topics, including over 1000 on first aid for members of the public. The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 place a duty on employers to provide adequate first aid equipment, facilities and personnel to their employees. However, this obligation under these Regulations does not extend to non-employees, including members of the public. Similarly, there is no requirement to cater for the first aid needs of the public under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. In the Act, first aid is included under ‘welfare facilities’ to be made available to ‘persons at work’. However, many undertakings such as schools, places of entertainment, fairgrounds and shops etc, offer a service to others. In its guidance, HSE strongly recommends that employers include non-employees in their assessment of first aid needs and make provision for them.

The Resusitation Council has changed the guidelines on adult basic life support. The ratio of breaths to chest compressions should now be 15:2

The paediatric basic life support guidelines have been changed, partly in response to convincing new medical evidence and partly to simplify them to assist in teaching and skills retention.

HSE has now produced a Position Statement on the structure and content of first aid training courses. In developing its position, HSE has taken full account of relevant research findings and comments received from stakeholders during consultation exercises. It has also worked closely with HSE approved first aid training organisations.