As reported in Khaleej Times
Dubai is coming up with a law that will make certified first aid personnel mandatory in every company in the emirate, Khaleej Times has learnt.
The draft law is ready and awaits approval.
A senior official confirmed the law will have provisions similar to the Good Samaritan Law in practice in many western countries to provide legal protection to certified first aid personnel from damages caused unintentionally while offering emergency aid in public places.
To make sure that the first aid training offered in the emirate complies with international standards, the law will also make it mandatory for first aid training institutes to be accredited by the Centre of Ambulance Services (CoAS) in Dubai and internationally reputed training organisations.
CoAS has taken the lead in drafting the law in collaboration with other agencies concerned like Dubai Police, Dubai Health Authority and Dubai Municipality, Dr Omar Al Sakaf, Director for Technical Support and Consultant at CoAS, said.
“The draft has been laid down. It is now with our legal department. The new regulation will finally be passed by the Dubai Executive Council,” he told Khaleej Times.
To facilitate the enforcement of the law, he said, CoAS will also provide customised training courses for workplaces in Dubai in collaboration with Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance (HABC), a UK government approved firm providing training and certification in first aid and food safety.
“HABC has created new training materials with our partnership. They will be used for providing training and qualifications in emergency and advanced first aid at workplace, and paediatric first aid. We are going to be an accreditation centre in Dubai for the best practices in training of first aid personnel,” he said.
However, the official did not elaborate on the criteria for companies to assign certified personnel to provide first aid in their premises.
The UAE labour law stipulates that there shall be one first aid box for each 100 workers in a firm and that shall be controlled by a person specialised in administering first aid. However, enforcement of this law has not been effective according to experts.
“Through the local law, our main target is to have a community trained in and aware of first aid in workplaces so that they can assist in day-to-day emergencies and road accidents,” said Dr Sakaf.
In 2008, Dubai made it mandatory for hotels to train all their staff in first aid and install Automated External Defibrillator (a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient and is able to treat them through defibrillation).
“CoAS has trained over 900 staff from hotels where it has become a standard to have qualified first aid providers. The law will make it a must for other establishments in Dubai.”