Mon–Fri 8:00–18:00 Serving Cambridgeshire & the South East
SafeServe SolutionsWhere care meets compliance
FAW

First Aid at Work

The full 3-day HSE-recognised first aid qualification — for higher-risk workplaces.

⏱ 3 days (18 hours) — also available blended (online theory + 2 in-person days) 🏢 Classroom, onsite, or blended 👥 Up to 8 (12 on request) 📜 HSE-recognised 💷 From £176 per learner

Course at a glance

Duration
3 days (18 hours) — also available blended (online theory + 2 in-person days)
Format
Classroom, onsite, or blended
Group size
Up to 8 (12 on request)
Certificate
Ofqual-regulated Level 3 Award, valid 3 years
Recognition
HSE-recognised
Price
From £176 per learner
Course overview

What this course is, and who it's for.

First Aid at Work (FAW) is the comprehensive 3-day qualification for higher-risk workplaces in the UK. If your Health and Safety needs assessment has flagged hazards beyond the everyday office — machinery, chemicals, working at height, larger headcounts, lone working, or physically demanding environments like construction, warehousing, manufacturing, garages and field work — FAW is the qualification the HSE expects your nominated first aiders to hold.

Across the three days your team will go beyond the basics of EFAW: deeper assessment skills, a wider range of injuries and medical emergencies, and the confidence to lead an incident response in a complex environment. We deliver FAW across Cambridgeshire and the South East — fully classroom-based at your premises, or as a popular blended option where the theory is completed online at the team's own pace and the practical is condensed into two focused in-person days. Less time off the floor, same certificate.

Full syllabus

What's covered, in detail.

Every module below is taught with practical demonstration and learner practice — not slide after slide. Skills are revisited multiple times across the course so they actually stick.

  1. Everything covered in EFAW

    Primary survey, CPR, AED, choking, bleeding, shock, common workplace injuries — re-taught and assessed at FAW depth.

  2. Secondary survey & SAMPLE history

    Structured handover to the emergency services, casualty history-taking, ongoing observations.

  3. Spinal & head injuries

    Recognising potential spinal injury, manual in-line stabilisation, head-injury observations and red flags.

  4. Major bleeding & catastrophic haemorrhage

    Direct pressure, indirect pressure, tourniquet use, haemostatic dressings, amputation management.

  5. Fractures, dislocations, sprains & strains

    Open vs closed fractures, splinting principles, RICE, when to mobilise.

  6. Burns & scalds

    Thermal, chemical and electrical burns, cooling, dressings, escalation criteria.

  7. Eye injuries & foreign objects

    Chemical splash management, irrigation, embedded objects, when not to remove.

  8. Poisoning, bites & stings

    Common workplace poisons, route of entry, anaphylaxis to insect stings, escalation.

  9. Heart attack, stroke, seizures, asthma, diabetes

    Recognise-treat-refer pathways, FAST stroke check, blood-sugar emergencies.

  10. Anaphylaxis & adrenaline auto-injectors

    Recognising anaphylaxis, EpiPen / Jext / Emerade administration, post-injection care.

  11. Mental health & wellbeing awareness

    Recognising acute distress at work, suicidal ideation, escalation routes.

  12. Practical & written assessment

    Continuous practical observation across all three days, plus a short multiple-choice paper at the end of day three.

Who it's for

Designed for these teams and settings.

FAW is the right choice if any of the following describe your environment:

Construction, civils, scaffolding and roofing
Manufacturing, engineering and process plants
Warehousing, logistics and distribution centres
Garages, vehicle workshops and tyre fitters
Larger hospitality venues, hotels and event teams
Outdoor activity centres, farms and grounds maintenance
Education sites with practical workshops, labs or kitchens
Any workplace identified as higher-risk by their needs assessment

Not sure if it's the right fit? Try our course finder or drop us a line with a few details and we'll point you to the right course.

Why SafeServe

What makes our FAW delivery different.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions about FAW.

How is FAW different from EFAW?
EFAW is a single day for low-risk workplaces. FAW is three days (or one online + two practical) and goes much deeper — secondary survey, fractures, spinal management, anaphylaxis, mental-health awareness, and a wider range of medical emergencies. FAW also includes a short written assessment in addition to the practical.
What does the blended option look like?
Your team completes the theory online at their own pace (typically 4–6 hours, broken into bite-sized modules they can do on a phone or laptop). Then we deliver the practical and assessments in two consecutive in-person days at your venue. Same Ofqual certificate as the classroom-only route.
Do you offer a Requalification course?
Yes — if your team's existing FAW certificate is current or recently expired, our 2-day FAW Requalification refreshes the entire syllabus and re-issues a fresh 3-year certificate, at significantly lower cost than the full 3-day course. See the FAW Requalification page for details.
How many FAW first aiders do I need?
The HSE's broad guidance is one FAW first aider per 50 staff in higher-risk environments, but the right number depends on shift patterns, lone working and how spread out your site is. We can help you size it during your needs assessment.
Can you deliver FAW onsite?
Yes — onsite is the most popular option for FAW. We bring everything (manikins, training AEDs, consumables). You'll need a room large enough for floor work plus a screen/monitor for the briefing slides.
You might also need

Ready to book First Aid at Work?

Tell us about your team and venue — we'll come back with available dates and a quote within one working day.

Request a quote   📞 01733 855359