First – aid: It’s More Than Just A Green Box
Wherever you go on business, whether it be to an office, factory or shop, you’ll no doubt see the ubiquitous green first-aid box on the wall. But why is it there?
Well, it’s a requirement of the snappily titled Health & Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 that employers provide adequate and appropriate first-aid equipment, facilities and people so that employees can be given immediate help if they are injured or taken ill at work.
It’s interesting to note in passing that the legal obligation is to provide help to employees – there’s no mention of providing first-aid for visitors or members of the public (although it’s a different situation if you’re planning something like a public festival or pop concert).
However, that apparent gap should not be seen as an excuse to withhold emergency aid from an injured person. Anybody daft enough to try that could still fall foul of other legislation, such as the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 which lays down the employer’s duty of care to those “not in his employment but affected by his business”. And, of course, there are also potential obligations to provide a duty of care under civil law.
So, what should be in the green box? The typical consultant-style answer is: “It all depends”.
There are no mandatory requirements as to the contents of the box because different situations will require different solutions (e.g. specialist burns dressings are not necessary in an ordinary office, but would be very useful in a steel works).
However, the HSE provides a wealth of free guidance, including a leaflet called “First-aid at work – your questions answered” (Reference number INDG 214), which gives guidelines as to the recommended contents.
The regulations also require the employer to provide appropriate people who are trained to provide assistance in the event of an accident or sudden illness, i.e. the employer needs to provide one or more first-aiders .
A range of first-aid training courses are available, which means that the training can be geared to the workplace. But, before any decision can be made as to which course is appropriate, the employer will first need to carry out a risk assessment.
This risk assessment should take into account both the activities being undertaken and the fact that first-aid cover has to be available at all times that people are working. Hence it may not be possible for just one person to act as the first-aider because of constraints such as shift work, people working overtime, and the need for staff to take annual leave.
Unfortunately a short article such as this can only look at the highlights, as it were, and so the reader is strongly advised to check with the HSE website (www.hse.gov.uk) and to download their free guidance on first-aid.
Oh, one final point. Let’s deal with the urban myth that a first-aider can be sued if they administer the wrong emergency treatment. Rubbish!
As long as the first-aider is working in accordance with his/ her training, and is not attempting a procedure in which they are not competent (e.g. roadside brain surgery!) then they are fine.
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The author:
Andy Farrall holds the following professional qualifications – GradIOSH MIIRSM MInstLM – and is an accredited health & safety instructor registered with the awarding body HABC.
He is multi-qualified both in health & safety and in training, and has a proven track record in the emergency services; law enforcement; construction safety; security and training. His reputation is such that he has given presentations by invitation on a variety of specialist topics at conferences in Amsterdam, Singapore, Nairobi and Mauritius.
His wide experience ranges from developing and managing a training programme for over 800 Ministry of Defence security officers, through to conducting a forensic investigation on behalf of defence counsel into the causes of a major building collapse in central London.
In 2009 he set up his own company, Management & Safety Training Ltd, to provide both accredited training courses in health & safety, and an ethical consultancy service covering health & safety and fire safety.
Website: www.managementandsafety.co.uk
Email: info@managementandsafety.co.uk
Telephone: 01934 865 144
