MAY 19, 2022 – There is no denying that neglecting to install a proper safety infrastructure in a place of work is a sure way to both put employees at risk and to run afoul of the law. Accordingly, neglect in this area can be expensive – even ruinous – in the long run. A proper safety infrastructure in a place of work is therefore essential, and part of that safety infrastructure should include ample provision for first aid.
First aid is important in any setting where an accident has any chance of happening. That naturally includes any type of workplace. When it comes to safety infrastructure, there are two types that are commonly spoken of – preventative measures and accident response. First aid naturally falls into the latter category, as it has as its main goal is the amelioration of the results of an accident, not preventing it in the first place. If you are looking to install an effective safety infrastructure in your place of work, then it is important to have both. For sure, you need to know how to prevent accidents, but you also need to know how to respond to them as well.
In any place of work – even with top notch safety and security in place – accidents are always possible. You can never totally eliminate the chances of an accident happening, and so accident response measures are absolutely vital in all cases. But of course, the precise way you go about setting up a safety infrastructure depends very much on what kind of workplace it is, as this will dictate the extent of your safety and first aid measures.
What is First Aid?
Before going onto advice regarding how to set up a workable first aid system in your place of work, it is important to set out precisely what first aid is as it has a very specific, legally recognised definition. First aid is defined as necessary temporary assistance for injured persons which can suffice until professional medical care can be provided. This last point is particularly important: first aid is not medical care, and this is an important thing to bear in mind when you are designing a first aid infrastructure for your place of work.
How Many Employees?
As mentioned, precisely how you set up a system of first aid in your place of work depends on a number of factors related to what the working environment is actually like. So we can examine these factors one by one, but the first aid system that you ultimately install will be particular to the place of work.
That said, one of the most important considerations to make before you even take your first steps is to consider how many people work there. Over and above everything else, this is perhaps the most important thing to account for. There needs to be adequate first aid supplies (and people trained to use them) to adequately cover the number of people in any workplace. And more than just this, you need to ensure that these first aid supplies are evenly distributed around the premises, avoid storing all first aid supplies in the one place if your place of work has more than a few rooms.
What are the Risks?
The second thing that will determine what your first aid system is like are the results of a risk assessment. The risks present in any given workplace can vary massively – just think of the different dangers posed on a construction site compared to an office. Naturally, the risks can be almost anything and there are too many potential risks in all the different places of work for any comprehensive list to be given here. Nonetheless, risk assessments are something specifically defined by the law, and you can seek the help of the relevant authorities when implementing your own risk assessment. After that has been done and you are certain that all legal requirements have been satisfied, you can proceed with setting up your first aid provision, clear about what needs to be accounted for.
First Aid and Accident Response
It should be noted here that first aid is perhaps less variable than an actual preventative safety system. In the case of accident prevention, the safety regulations and equipment put in place will be very specifically tailored to what the biggest risks are in any given place of work. Accordingly, you could find yourself installing everything from non-slip surfaces on flights of stairs, fire exit signage, AED signage in the hallways, or even safety barriers placed around the moving parts of machinery. The list goes on.
When it comes to first aid though, there is only so much you can provide. As mentioned, first aid is not medical care and, depending on what accidents are likely it can be specifically tailored or it might have to be pretty general. For example, while there may be all sorts of safety infrastructure necessitated by, say, a large hydraulic loading ramp with the potential to cause very serious injury, it’s very unlikely that there are any first aid items which could specifically address the types of injuries that could be caused by a large hydraulic loading ramp. This falls to the medical professionals.
More often than not then first aid provision is kept pretty general, normally involving bandages and dressing for wounds, disinfection sprays, defibrillators for sudden heart issues, painkilling medication, and so on. First aid kits do not vary much. The only thing that does vary is how many of them you will need and where they should be positioned around the premises.
A Note About Training
Of course, there is one particularly important point about workplace first aid that hasn’t been mentioned yet – the training. First aid is not just a bunch of equipment placed around the premises of the workplace; it relies entirely on people knowing what to do with that equipment. So first aid training for your workforce can be a very good idea – or it could be demanded by law.
Naturally, most workplaces aren’t made up healthcare professionals in the wrong job so the training needs must be pretty simple. However, what should certainly be ensured is that everybody knows how to use the first aid equipment, everybody knows where it is located and, finally, that employees know a few first aid techniques – such as CPR – which do not require the use of any equipment at all.
Hence, you can think of first aid as a combination of equipment, infrastructure, and a workforce that knows how to respond when an accident occurs.
Last Word
Such is the general advice then for first aid in a place of work. First aid is vitally important, and in some cases, it could well mean the difference between life and death. Nevertheless, bear in mind that it will vary from place to place and will also be determined by the results of a proper risk assessment. It is in your interests to keep up with first aid requirements, as it is vital for the welfare of your employees and it keeps you the right side of the law as well.