How to reduce the risk of ligature?

I think you will agree that reducing the risk of ligature incidents (follow the link for more info) is clearly a priority when looking after young people and adults at risk of this kind of behaviour. Aside from working out why individuals engage in this type of ligature behaviour (follow the link for more info) and try to stop it is important to make sure that everything reasonable is being done to reduce the risk of them applying a ligature.

The first step is to develop a good ligature policy (follow the link for more info) for your organisation so it is clearly written down the type of approach that your setting is taking in terms of managing risk around ligature incidents (follow the link for more info).

As you already know risk assessments are the best way to identify and reduce the chance of something awful happening. In its purest form a risk assessment is a simple mathematical formula:

Likelihood (of a hazard occurring) X Severity (most reasonable serious outcome) = Risk

Obviously, it is a little more detailed than this but looking at the formula above you can see that you can reduce the risk score by either reducing the likelihood and/or reducing the severity of the outcome. For risk of ligature this means looking at your environment and identifying potential ligature items (things used) and potential ligature points (where the ligature is secured to). A risk score can then be generated, and you can then look at what you can do to reduce the risk. Control measures include removing, substituting or enclosing the ligature/ligature point to reduce the score. A simple risk assessment form (follow the link for more info) can be used to record this.

Training staff (follow the link for more info)  in how to deal with ligature incidents (follow the link for more info) is also vital as well as issuing settings with ligature cutters so they have the confidence, knowledge and the right equipment to deal with the situation. Teaching a set procedure like SCRAPS (follow the link for more info) will help staff respond more effectively in an emergency

Square pegs into round holes

I know that you already know about first aid courses like emergency first aid training for adults in the workplace and also paediatric first aid training for those that look after young children and babies. There is even a more advanced first aid at work course that last 3 days.

If you are booking first aid training for staff working in nurseries and primary schools it is a no-brainer to book the paediatric course and likewise if you are booking training for staff working in an adult environment you simply book either the 1 day emergency first aid training or the more advanced 3 day course for higher risk workplaces.

But what if you work in an environment where you are looking after older children that are considered ‘adults’ for the purpose of first aid.

“For the purposes of first aid any person who has started puberty is treated as an adult”

What this means in practice is that a child who has started puberty would receive the adult sequence for CPR instead of the child sequence.

If you work in an educational establishment where you look after older children, you may find that the courses shown above don’t fit all you first aid training needs.

Do you go for a paediatric course which coves childhood illnesses and injuries but is really geared for babies and younger children, or do you go for an emergency first aid training course which will cover the CPR sequence you need (see above diagram) but is geared towards giving first aid to adults.

There is another option, some companies offer a course that might be called something like first aid for schools

This type of course is a hybrid of paediatric and adult first aid and can quite nicely bridge the gap between the two traditional types of course.

It covers the most common childhood illnesses and injuries but also more ‘adult’ related first aid as well. Obviously, one of the biggest benefits of this type of hybrid course is that staff can also use this first aid training to render first aid to other members of staff.

Eek! Another YP ligature referral

I was speaking to one of my clients the other day and he was telling me that he has seen a massive increase in referrals being made for young people ‘at risk of self-harm through ligatures’ and that his organisation is having to invest time and money into getting staff trained up to deal with ligature emergencies.

Clearly, anxiety amongst staff un-trained to deal with ligature emergencies on how to deal with them means that training is often an urgent request putting a burden on L&D departments to organise anti-ligature training. Never mind getting all the staff together at the same time, geography and budgets playing a part in making this a challenge.

Fortunately, there are several options available that when used in the correct mix can help make the task of getting ligature training  easier for organisations.

Obviously, there is the preferred option of classroom anti-ligature training like the type provided below:

https://www.meducatetraining.co.uk/training-courses/anti-ligature-training-essex/

Did you know there are also 2 other options for getting your ligature training done?

Ligature training is now available in e-learning format where you can gain the knowledge about how to deal with ligature emergencies (obviously you won’t be able to practice) and this could be used a short-term fix for urgent ligature training requests or as an annual refresher option. Some examples of anti-ligature e-learning is below:

https://www.mwonlinetraining.uk/course?courseid=ligature-rescue

https://www.mwonlinetraining.uk/course?courseid=anti-ligature-policy-and-risk-assessment-tool

For an organisation that can train some of its own staff to deliver anti-ligature courses back in their workplaces there are train-the-trainer options available. This type of training can be delivered via an online webinar or as a classroom course.

An example of each type is below:

https://www.markwigley.online/product/antiligaturetrainthetrainercpdwebinar

https://www.markwigley.online/page/trainthetrainerspecialevent

Clearly you can see that there are many options available to get your ligature training sorted and get your staff trained and confident in dealing with ligature emergencies!

Accredited or not accredited; that is the question

We get lots of enquiries regarding first aid courses (which is not surprising since we do first aid training); a question we get asked a lot is:

“Is the training accredited or not?”

But what does ‘accredited’ mean and how does it differ from non-accredited?

All the way back in 2013 (which seems an awfully long time ago) the Health and Safety Executive stopped regulated first aid training providers in order to offer more flexibility for employers to choose the type of first aid training that they wanted in the workplace.

If you are looking for first aid training in Essex or elsewhere then you have several options available to you.

Option 1 is to use one of the Voluntary Aid Societies such as British Red Cross or St Johns Ambulance. Due to their status they certify their own first aid courses.

Option 2 is to use a first aid training company that is registered with an awarding body such as Qualsafe to deliver training regulated by OFQUAL. This type of first aid training is the one known as ‘regulated’ or ‘accredited’. First Aid Training companies offering this type of training register with the awarding body and are subject to monitoring by them to ensure they meet certain standards. A company such as www.meducatetraining.co.uk is a good example of this type of provider. These courses are part of a qualification framework known as RQF and come in different ‘levels’

Option 3 is to use a first aid training provider that is registered with an organisation such as the Federation of First Aid Training Organisations. Providers registered with this type of organisation are monitored and inspected and deliver first aid training to the old HSE standard for first aid training. Providers normally issue their own certificates and the courses are not OFQUAL regulated but are quality assured.

Option 4 is to use a first aid training provider that is completely independent of any awarding or regulatory body. They provide their own training materials and issue their own certificates and have their own quality assurance systems. Some simple due diligence when contacting one of these providers should easily determine whether the provider is suitably qualified to provide first aid training for you. A provider such as https://www.markwigley.online/page/classroomfirstaidtraining is a good example of this type of provider.

A top tip when booking first aid training is to make sure you know exactly what you have purchased and what type of certificate you are going to end up; so you don’t end up getting what you didn’t want.  The provider you contact should be up-front with you as to what type of training they offer.

Each type of provider has their own unique pro’s and con’s and none are necessarily better than the other. Shop around and make sure you are happy with the option you have chosen, the course and the price. Option 4 can be a lot cheaper than Option 1 for example however there is more to the choice than just the price.