Are your staff able to administer first aid in an emergency?
It is a legal requirement for each UK workplace to have at least one trained first aider, whether in offices, outdoor working areas and especially within health and social care environments.
However, the owners and managers of businesses and organisers need to prepare for situations in which their first aider is unable to perform his or her duties. This could be because of annual leave, illness or perhaps the first aider is the one who needs medical attention.
You could send two or three of your staff members on first aid training courses, but it makes much more sense to ensure that as many of your workforce as possible receive training on what to do in a medical emergency. This will help to create a safer working environment overall, with every member of staff confident in their ability to react in an emergency and potentially save their colleagues lives.
As part of first aid training, your staff members need to learn about:
- Managing emergency situations
- CPR and basic life support
- Controlling bleeding
- Dealing with head injuries and unconsciousness
- Reacting to choking
- Treating shock
- Treating sprains and wounds
It is also important to remember that emergency first aid training needs to be refreshed every so often, to keep your first aiders updated and the life-saving information fresh in their minds.