Practitioner viewpoint

When did you last properly check your first aid kit? Not just a quick check to make sure the dressings are in date and the packet of plasters isn’t empty, but a proper check to make sure that the contents are suitable and sufficient to address the hazards in your business?

Legislation sets out basic minimum requirements for a workplace first aid kit, but your legal duty doesn’t stop with procuring this basic equipment.  Your task based risk assessments may well identify the need for more specialist supplies based on the hazards present in your workplace.

Are you confident that employees in your business have access to the right specialist first aid equipment?  That they know where to find this? And how to use it?

None of us ever want a colleague to suffer an injury at work.  We deploy controls to manage risk as far as we can, but things do still go wrong, and when they do, having access to the right equipment can make the difference between recovery, and life changing injury or even loss of life.  Technology and science move on all the time, so it’s important to stay updated and to review your first aid provisions regularly.

It’s important to keep your staff up to date too.  First aiders should receive regular training, and this needs to cover not just basic techniques, but also the correct use of any specialist equipment provided.  All staff need to know where to find the first aid equipment, so they can support the first aiders.  In an emergency the flight or fight response kicks in and interferes with logical thought processes, so regular reminders are vital to help ensure effective action even when under pressure.

Many companies now go a step further and offer basic life support or emergency first aid training to all staff.  It’s often said that it’s the person standing beside you who can save your life!  Advanced medical support is no good if those first on scene after an incident don’t take basic steps to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening and promote recovery.

Just before Christmas a member of staff in our business suffered serious burns as a result of an incident at work.  The prompt action of colleagues, who applied water immediately, and the first aider who swiftly accessed the local supply of specialist burn gel dressings, undoubtedly helped to reduce the severity of his injuries, and to promote his recovery. 

Having these skills can be a huge benefit outside of work as well.  One of my colleagues took part in a CPR training campaign at work, then just days later used these skills to help when his brother had a cardiac arrest whilst they were watching a football match together!  Parents and people with caring responsibilities also tell me that they regularly call on these skills to help those they care about most, and other use them to support their local communities through voluntary activities.  

So why not take this opportunity to review your first aid arrangements?  Make sure you have the right equipment and supplies available at your locations, and give staff the knowledge and skills that they need to take the right action in a medical emergency.  You never know, it might be your life that they will step in to save!

Louise Ward is group director ESG and projects at Heavy Haul Rail Limited. For more information, visit www.heavyhaulrail.co.uk