Advice on first aid requirements for churches, including a sample consent form.
Having some basic first aid knowledge an excellent way for Christians in local churches to be able to assist and serve not only the church but also be a blessing to those around them in everyday life. Given that there is a duty for leaders to assist children they are looking after who need attention, we strongly recommend that there is a least one trained first aider in every church activity specifically aimed at children, and that all leaders/helpers at these activities are made aware of what to do in a first aid situation.
Insurance requirements Churches should check their public liability insurance to see if it says anything about first aid. If a policy requires a church to follow ‘best practice’, churches should note that reference is likely to be made to an organisation such as The Churches Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS) for what constitutes best practice, and the CCPAS guidelines state that churches should have trained first aiders for every event involving children.
With children under 16, in most cases parental consent will also be required. Therefore, you should make sure that you obtain a parental consent form for every child attending a church activity at which the parents are not present.
See the attached PDF below for a sample consent form which is based on the assumption that a trained first aider will be present. Please note that the form does not cover the administration of medication, which is beyond the scope of this article.
Footnote:
First published on 21/11/13
This article reflects FIEC Ltd’s understanding on the date above. It is designed for the purpose of knowledge sharing and does not constitute legal advice.
Many thanks to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) for allowing me to include the above text from their website www.fiec.org.uk
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