Fitness First Aid

If you work in the Health and Fitness industry – either as an employer with employees, or you are self-employed then you need to be prepared should someone fall ill, or injure themselves at the establishment, whether a rented hall, gym or Boxing or Martial Arts Club.

You and your venue have a Duty of Care over anyone that visits, from staff to class attendees. This website is essential reading for:

Health and Fitness employers

If your Business has employees then you must also comply with the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations. For instance you may need to:

• Provide adequate and appropriate first aid equipment and facilities
• Provide a suitable number of qualified first aiders
• Appoint a person to take charge where first aiders are temporarily absent or the provision of first aiders is not necessary (due to the nature of the activities; the number of employees; and location)
• Inform employees and volunteers of the first aid provisions made – including the location of any equipment or facilities and the identity of the first aider(s) or appointed person(s).

Self-employed trainers and instructors

If you are self-employed then, again, you must comply with the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations. For instance you may need to:

• Have with you adequate and appropriate first aid equipment.
• Have an appropriate first Aid qualification. This will depend on your individual Risk Assessment for this location, what you are doing, your Governing Body and possibly venue requirements.

Generally speaking, to determine what is required, your Business must carry out a Risk Assessment and draw up an appropriate plan to provide this cover. There is some useful information on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website:

https://www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/

Which Health First Aid or Fitness First Aid course should I choose?

Use the following guide to see which First Aid course is suitable for your Gym, Martial Arts Club, Sports Club – or for you as a self-employed coach or instructor. Click the course title to find out more information about the course.

Click here to ask for a Training quotation for your Fitness Organisation staff.

Basic Life Support, which is often the minimum requirement for Organisations. It covers Life-saving techniques such as CardioPulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), use of a defibrillator, Recovery Position and dealing with a choking casualty.

Basic Live Support plus Martial Arts. 4 Minutes Training has created this 4-hour course. It covers the core Basic Life Support syllabus then adds an hour of typical Martial Arts injuries –

• Bleeds
• Soft tissue injuries (strains & sprains) and fractures
• Head injuries

Click here for further information.

Other Bespoke First Aid courses. 4 Minutes Training can tailor a First Aid course to your needs, wherever you are. It has tailored courses for Martial Arts, and exercise/dance studios already and if they don’t suit, can create one for your Organisation. Click here to get in touch and find out more.

Emergency First Aid at Work, which covers the Workplace requirements, but doesn’t deal with Sports-specific injuries, nor does it cover medical events such as strokes (it does cover heart attacks). This is the most popular First Aid course for Personal Trainers, Gym staff and self-employed PT / yoga / Martial Arts etc. instructors.

First Aid at Work, which builds on Emergency First Aid at Work to include medical emergencies, bone and muscle injuries amongst other Medical issues. More suited to larger, or higher risk Sports.

Also worth considering…

Mental Health First Aid. Sports and fitness coaching can be stressful and you should also be aware of the Metal Health of your learners. By providing Workplace Mental Health First Aiders, support can be available when required.

Contact us if you would like more information or a Quotation for Training for your coaching staff.

In general, most individual Clubs and Gyms and self-employed coaches can probably be covered by Coaches and Trainers taking the 1-day Emergency First Aid at Work course. Larger Centres or higher Risk Spas and Treatment Centres may wish to consider the 3-day First Aid at Work course for some staff. Also consider a Bespoke First Aid course for your coaching and training staff if none of the regular courses are quite what you need.

When considering how many staff need training you must allow for staff leave and sickness – as well as the First Aider falling sick or injuring themselves. Also consider the size of the Centre or Gym, whether it is spread out, there are separate Treatment buildings or outbuildings / Spas / Pools / Dojos and consider spreading First Aid skills across departments – Front of House, Coaches, Personal Trainers and Assistants for example.