Aside from the initial training program, employers and supervisors should also invest on first aid renewal regardless of the nature and industry of their business since renewing the first aid license of employees have a lot of benefits both for the company and the employees. Here are some of the benefits or advantages of first aid renewal in the workplace.
First Aid Renewal Ensures Compliance
Every now and then, government agencies that are in charge of ensuring the safety of employees who are working at private and government sectors release new mandates and revisions of the current workplace regulations to cope up with recent technological changes and scientific breakthroughs. Agencies such as the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety rely on the most recent studies and recommendations of accredited healthcare institutions and professionals when developing these regulations. First aid renewal ensures that employees are updated on these new mandates which ensure that their workplace complies with new mandates and standards.
First Aid Renewal Promotes Alertness
Even though recent statistics from 2000 up to the present year show that the number of workplace-related injuries and incidents have decreased in comparison to the previous years, the rate of these incidents are not at a constant decline. There are times wherein the total number of reported injuries is lower or higher in the previous years. The rate of people who experienced back strains in the workplace for example, has been continuously declining each year since 2003 to 2010. However in 2011 and 2012, the prevalence rate slightly increased due to numerous factors. This is why it is important to keep employees on their toes and remind them that the accidents and injuries in the workplace can increase at any time.
On an average, multinational companies spend millions of dollars each year in healthcare due to injuries which would have otherwise been prevented if employees are well-trained in first aid. Small business owners also spend thousands of dollars annually in hospital and healthcare bills even though they have much fewer employees than multinational companies. Through first aid renewal, employees remain highly skilled in this area which ensures lesser workplace-related injuries and ultimately, healthcare expenses. The expenses that will be avoided through these types of training are also much less expensive than the amount that employers are expected to cover during accidents and other medical emergencies that occur in the workplace.