[The organization and management of First Aid in the workplace: critical issues and innovations to be introduced]

Develop an effective First Aid's system in workplaces is significantly important to the outcomes of accidents at work, thus contributing positively to create healthy and safe environments, improving responsible attitude and risk perception by workers. The italian regulation (D. Lgs. 81/08; DM 388/03) gives an important role to First Aid within the system for managing health and safety in workplaces and requires the employers to designate and train workers and organize facilities in the workplace. However, to ensure that First Aid's system actually contributes to increasing health and safety in workplaces, it's necessary to verify its effectiveness, beyond the law compliance. The article stands to evaluate the critical issues and related innovations to be introduced in this context, by analyzing data from literature and field experiences involving actors in the prevention system. The goal is to provide suggestions and action proposals to improve first aid's system in workplaces, paying particular attention to the aiders training (selection, motivation, teaching methods, retraining), as well as introduce to innovations to allow an immediate and timely emergency response (company equipments, other useful devices). On this last aspect, it has given particular emphasis to the introduction of semi-automatic defibrillator (AED), which is essential in case of sudden cardiac arrest with ventricular fibrillation, and special aiders training by means of BLSD (Basic Life Support and Defibrillation) courses based on international guidelines.