Paediatric First Aid

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Monday 15th December 2014 Westminster Hall

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

Children’s day nurseries are places where all sorts of bugs go round. Often the level of sickness absence is a lot higher than in other places of work. Is it not right, therefore, that more people are trained so that if paediatric first-aiders are absent because of sickness, someone else can take up the reins?

[Mark Hunter]

That is indeed the case I am advocating, so I can only agree with the hon. Gentleman’s comment. If the trained first-aider is off ill or has been called away urgently or even, dare I say, panics when presented with a choking child, who is able, under the current guidelines, to step in and provide the assistance that could save a child’s life? Furthermore, I am concerned that the Department is heading in the wrong direction on this issue. The new update to the framework, which came into effect in September, has placed the onus on the child care facility to decide how many staff need to be trained. It is now up to the individual organisation; there is no national regulation on that. No ratio on first-aiders to children on site has been given or suggested by the Department. That is a weaker position than we had previously, when the framework clarified that

“first aid training must be local authority approved and be relevant for workers caring for young children”.

On first aid training providers, it is my view and that of the campaign that straightforward guidelines should be in place on who can administer paediatric first aid training and to what level. Many child care providers do not realise that a nursery using a first aid training company that is not regulated must carry out its own due diligence. Would it not be best if everyone obtained a regulated first aid qualification accredited by an Ofqual-recognised awarding organisation, so that we can make it easier for parents to have confidence when placing their loved ones in the care of others?