Allowing Standard First Aid Recertification for Sports Instructors to Commence Upon Expiry of Existing Certificate Instead of Upon Renewal

Ms See Jinli Jean asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry will consider allowing the validity period of a standard first aid recertification for sports instructors to commence upon expiry of the existing certificate instead of upon renewal, which renewal may be up to three months before actual expiry; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider extending the validity period of a standard first aid certification to three years instead of two.

Whether the renewal of existing certification starts from the expiry of the existing certification or from point of training completion depends on the training provider, as different providers have differing administrative and IT systems. The Singapore Resuscitation and First Aid Council (SRFAC) will work with providers to see if they can standardise the practice.

SRFAC has set a two-year certification validity for its accredited courses, including the Standard First Aid. Their assessment is that two years will better ensure currency of skills and the practical challenges of requiring more frequent refresher retraining.