Paediatric first aid: mandatory training request (cross-border guide)

Context

In brief

• In 2025, 296 interventions involving children under 6 were recorded
• The motion calls for mandatory pediatric training every two years
• The lead signatory is Simona Genini, with eight co-signatories
• The scope includes nurseries, holiday camps and services overseen by the Canton

Key facts

• Location → Bellinzona
• Lead signatory → Simona Genini, member of parliament and PLR deputy group leader
• Interventions in 2025 → 296
• Causes indicated → 65 seizures; 52 febrile or infectious conditions without shock; 50 traumatic brain injuries; 42 respiratory disorders or insufficiencies
• Proposed update → certified training, in principle at least every two years

In 2025, 296 interventions involving children under 6 were recorded in Ticino. Almost one a day, according to the data cited in the motion submitted to the Council of State in Bellinzona.

The lead signatory is Simona Genini, member of parliament and PLR deputy group leader. She is joined by eight co-signatories. The request is to make pediatric first-aid training mandatory and update it periodically for anyone whose professional activity involves directly caring for children.

The request to the Council of State

The signatories emphasize that children’s safety depends not only on the premises, internal procedures or the possibility of calling 144. It is also necessary to know what to do during the time that passes before emergency services arrive. They cite choking, loss of consciousness, seizures, severe allergic reactions and accidents in water. They argue that the person present with the child is necessarily the first to intervene.

«When it comes to children’s safety, it is not enough merely to take care of the premises, internal procedures or the possibility of calling 144».

The data indicated in the motion include 65 seizures, 52 febrile or infectious conditions without shock, 50 traumatic brain injuries and 42 respiratory disorders or insufficiencies. Almost one third of the interventions took place outside the home. The text specifies, however, that these figures do not say in how many cases the child was in the care of a facility or professional.

The proposal concerns staff with direct responsibility for caring for children at asilo nido and micro-nurseries, daycare families, extracurricular centers, socialization centers, holiday camps, organized stays and other services subject to cantonal authorization, recognition or oversight. The Government should also assess whether to include nannies and babysitters when they work professionally or regularly and for pay, while excluding occasional services.

According to the signatories, the provisions currently in force in Ticino do not establish a general and uniform obligation for all people directly responsible for children. For this reason, the motion calls for certified, predominantly practical training, with refresher training in principle at least every two years and recognition of certificates already obtained if they meet the requirements.

Operational details

What would change in practice

Today, according to the proposers, in Ticino there is no general and uniform obligation that requires all people with direct custody to have certified and updated training. The requested novelty is therefore not an additional course for a single role, but a requirement referring to the staff who directly assume care in the listed services.

A requirement distributed across the service

The motion considers insufficient the idea that having a single trained person per structure is enough. That person may be absent, on break, engaged with another group, or not present during an outing. The coverage envisioned by the signatories therefore follows the direct care responsibility, not just the existence of a certificate within the organization.

Comparing with other cantons shows that the request does not indicate a single model. In Bern, certain categories of staff must possess pediatric first aid knowledge and update it at least every two years. In Geneva, the educational staff of early childhood facilities must be able to provide first aid and keep BLS-AED-SRC training updated every two years. The motion also references the models of Fribourg and Lucerne, without attributing the same operational detail in the text.

For Ticino, the proposed criterion is certified but mainly practical training, without assigning exclusivity to a particular course or body. The practical part and specific emergencies should be adapted to the different age groups. The update would, in principle, be at least biennial. Certificates already obtained would not be automatically excluded: they would be recognized if they ensured the minimum content and practical component required.

The limit of available data

The 296 interventions of 2025 show the volume of pediatric rescue interventions cited in the text, but do not allow converting the data into a statistic on infant care facilities. The motion states this explicitly. Therefore, one cannot, based solely on those figures, determine how many emergencies involved nurseries, day families, colonies or other services.

The possible extension to grandparents and babysitters remains a judgment requested from the Government: it would concern professional or regular paid activity, not occasional. For facilities and services, the possible operational shift would also depend on inserting the requirement into existing cantonal procedures, the transitional period for those already in operation, and the financing methods for the first training and updates, including possible participation of the Canton. Those looking for opportunities in the sector can consult the job postings, keeping the training proposal distinct from the process still required by the State Council.

Recommended tools

For an updated estimate, use the net salary calculator and the CHF-EUR exchange comparator.

Key points

How to prepare for the potential application

The motion requests the State Council to introduce the requirement and incorporate it into existing cantonal procedures. For those working or managing a service, the text allows identifying some preparatory steps and presents concrete indications.

A five-step verification

1. Map responsibilities. The first verification concerns who has direct responsibility for care in nurseries and micro-nurseries, family day cares, extracurricular and socialization centers, colonies, organized stays, and other authorized, recognized or cantonally supervised services. It is not simply being present in the facility that defines the scope: the motion refers to direct care.

2. Check certifications. The proposal does not ask to cancel already completed training. It asks to recognize them when they guarantee minimum content and practical components. The verification should therefore focus on what the certificate covers and the practical part, without assuming that a certification will be automatically accepted.

3. Plan updates. The indicated reference is at least every two years. The training should remain predominantly practical and adapt the operational part and emergencies to different age groups. The motion does not bind the choice to a specific course or organization.

4. Separate regular and occasional activities. For nannies and babysitters, the Government is called to evaluate an extension only when the activity is professional or regular and paid. Occasional services are excluded from the indicated requirement.

5. Follow transition and costs. The text requests a transitional period for personnel already active and an evaluation on how to finance initial training and updates, including possible cantonal participation. Their definition will have to be inserted into cantonal procedures.

This reading allows distinguishing what is already written in the proposal from what will need to be defined. Minimum contents are already indicated: airway clearance, pediatric resuscitation, defibrillator when indicated, water accidents, convulsions, allergic reactions, hemorrhages, traumas, burns and poisonings. What remains to be specified are procedural integration, methods of recognizing certifications and funding.

For those evaluating employment in care, following the motion's process helps to understand if and how the requirement will enter services subject to authorization, recognition or cantonal supervision. To complete the personal comparison, consult the salary calculator.

Source: tio.ch