FIRST AID - 25.09.2006

Is there a doctor in the house?

I’m not a doctor!

First aid means administering treatment for the purpose of preserving life and minimising the consequences of injury and illness until help can be obtained from a medical practitioner or nurse. It also means giving treatment for minor injuries (cuts and bruises etc.). It doesn’t cover the administering of drugs or medications. The problem is that we’re not very good at dealing with even the most minor incident!

We’ve all failed!

A recent survey by St John Ambulance identified that half the UK population have never received any first aid training. Only 4% of people knew how to give the kiss of life correctly, one in three didn’t know the correct practice if faced with a broken bone, 20% were clueless if faced with someone choking, and one in ten were not confident in treating a burn effectively.

Legal requirements

The legal requirements for first aid in the workplace are contained in the Health & Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. These regulations were recently reviewed but after a lengthy consultation process the HSE have decided to leave them unchanged. However, supplementary guidance on training courses and the registration of training providers is forthcoming. Compliance with the regulations is relatively straightforward - it’s all to do with our old friend “risk assessment” - you need to look at the practices in your workplace and assess the provision of first aid relevant to the risks and the number of employees. However, the regulations do state that you must be able to justify the level of provision and, in most cases, the minimum of a first aid box and an appointed person.

Tip 1. Where the first aid assessment identifies a need for someone to be available for rendering first aid, the employer should ensure that they are provided in sufficient numbers and at appropriate locations.

Tip 2. As a minimum, you’ll need to ensure at least one first aid container for each work site, supplied with a sufficient quantity of first aid materials suitable for the particular circumstances.

Do you need fully trained staff?

It all depends on your assessment. There are two types of staff here - trained first aiders and appointed persons. The difference? A first aider is trained to administer first aid treatment and an appointed person is there to take charge of a situation and call for medical help. In organisations where the risk assessment identifies a comparatively low risk to health and safety, employers may only need to provide a suitably stocked first aid container and an appointed person to look after first aid arrangements and take charge in emergencies. However, where the work involves particular risks, for example work with hazardous substances or dangerous tools or machinery, first aid needs will be greater. If the risks are higher, then you may need to consider having someone on site who’s able to administer first aid treatment at all times.

The next step

For further information to help you do your risk assessment we’ve produced a first aid needs checklist. It’s available from http://healthandsafety.indicator.co.uk (HS 05.01.07).