How prepared is your business for a first aid emergency? I know it is nearly Christmas and this is probably the least important thing on your mind but you just might want to think about planning to make 2017 a safe year.
The Health and Safety Executive are hot on work place safety and so they should be. In December to date they reported 17 cases of prosecutions and fines because of health and safety accidents.
All businesses across all industries need to ensure that their employees are working in safe conditions and should the worst happen there are sufficient numbers of people who would know what to do. Statistics of Workplace Accidents for 2015/2016 shows that 144 workers were killed because of a workplace accident (RIDDOR) and an estimated 621,000 workers sustained a non-fatal injury at work. In total, an estimated 4.5 million working days were lost due to self-reported workplace injuries, on average 7.2 days per case (LFS).
Therefore, it is important to check that you are adhering to all safety regulations pertaining to your industry. We are regularly called out to perform emergency first aid training because of an incident where companies realised that more up to date first aid training was required. In one case an employee had suffered a heart attack and the staff were traumatised because none of them knew what to do. Our trainers provided CPR and AED Training for all the employees.
60,000 sudden cardiac arrests (SCA) occur outside the hospital each year in the UK, with 5 percent of these occurring in the workplace. If someone stops breathing you only 3 minutes before the brain starts to die which is why it is vital you have a defibrillator on site and someone on hand who can perform CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation).
Below are 5 First Aid Steps to help you minimise workplace risks and be better prepared to respond to any first aid emergency which might happen in your workplace.
- Have you conducted a first aid assessment of your business? How near are you to the emergency services? Is access easy?
- Do you have sufficient first aiders on site? Do you have enough cover for unplanned staff absences? Do all the nominated first aiders have current first aid certificates? Check our first aid calculator to assess how many first aiders are required: https://www.qualsafeawards.org/calculator/26bb8ab3a98240737f9b8b15e5364f27
- Is the first aid equipment in your workplace easy to find and access? Do you have sufficient first aid kits? Do you have a defibrillator? How often do you check your first aid equipment?
- Does your workplace run first aid drills and procedures? Do you supply all your staff with first aid information?
- Have you evaluated your business activities to identify areas of increased risk?
For details of Safe and Sound First Aid at Work Training Courses go to: http://www.safeandsound.uk.net/course-type/first-aid/first-aid-at-work/
