Four out of five South East businesses admit first aid failings
New research conducted by St John Ambulance has revealed that most businesses in South East do not have the required number of properly trained first aiders.
The first aid organisation found that four of five businesses admitted that there are times in the course of day-to-day operations that a trained first aider is not on duty. If someone had fallen ill, had an accident or had an emergency happen during these times, the consequences could be devastating.
In response to this worrying fact, St John Ambulance has launched an online survey in which businesses are asked to answer a few questions. The aim of the survey is to help business owners understand whether they are meeting the first-aid standards required by law or whether they need to send more staff on first aid training courses.
The charity’s South East director Sabarah Cursons said:
“On any given day, first aiders might be absent because of illness, holiday or training.”
“Or there may not be sufficient first aid cover because many companies are not meeting the legal minimum in the first place.”
“That means if someone has an injury and is bleeding or even has a heart attack, there may be no-one to provide the vital first aid that could be the difference between life and death.”