The First Rule – Whenever you encounter a first aid situation the first step is to get control of yourself so you can calmly assess the situation, provide direction and make decisions with a cool head. If the injured person is conscious, help keep them calm by reassuring them that they will be all right and that help is on the way. If you provide any first aid, tell them what you are going to do and why.
First aid is emergency care provided for injury or sudden illness before emergency medical treatment is available. The first-aid provider in the workplace is someone who is trained in the delivery of initial medical emergency procedures, using a limited amount of equipment to perform a primary assessment & intervention while awaiting arrival of emergency medical service personnel.
Instructing all workers about the first-aid program, including what workers should do if a coworker is injured or ill. Putting the policies and program in writing is recommended to implement this and other program elements.
Providing for scheduled evaluation and changing of the first-aid program to keep the program current and applicable to emerging risks in the workplace, including regular assessment of the adequacy of the first-aid training course.
This training should also includes an outline of the essential elements of safe and effective first-aid training for the workplace as guidance to institutions teaching first-aid courses and to the consumers of these courses.
The Risks: Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities. Recent statistics show 5,703 work-related fatalities in private industry per year. Also, there were 4.3 million total workplace injuries and illnesses, of which 1.3 million resulted in days away from work. Occupational illnesses, injuries and fatalities cost the economy $142.2 billion, according to National Safety Council estimates. The average cost per occupational fatality exceeded one million dollars. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) may occur at work. According to recent statistics from the American Heart Association, there are 250,000 out-of-hospital SCAs annually. The actual number of SCAs that happen at work are unknown. If an employee collapses without warning and is not attended to promptly and effectively, the employee may die. Sudden cardiac arrest is caused by abnormal, uncoordinated beating of the heart or loss of the heartbeat altogether, usually as a result of a heart attack.
Employers should make an effort to obtain estimates of EMS response times for all permanent and temporary locations and for all times of the day and night at which they have workers on duty, and they should use that information when planning their first-aid program. When developing a workplace first-aid program, consultation with the local fire and rescue service or emergency medical professionals may be helpful for response time information and other program issues. Because it can be a workplace event, SCA should be considered by employers when planning a first-aid program. It is advisable to put the First-Aid Program policies and procedures in writing. Policies and procedures should be communicated to all employees, including those workers who may not read or speak English. Language barriers should be addressed both in instructing employees on first-aid policies and procedures and when designating individuals who will receive first-aid training and become the on-site first-aid providers.
