First aid is the help given to an injured or sick person to keep them safe until they go to a doctor, a health professional, or a hospital for advanced medical treatment. The first aider’s role is to provide support to someone while making sure that they and everyone involved are safe and do not make the situation worse.
A first aider needs to act immediately to save lives. This includes ensuring the area is safe for themselves, the injured, and bystanders to avoid further casualties.
They prevent further damage by providing appropriate first aid and monitoring vital signs. People who are taken good care of emotionally after an incident will be less anxious and recover better.
In an emergency, a first aider must manage the incident, assess the victims, determine the nature and cause of their injuries, arrange for further medical help or assistance to other emergency services, provide first aid first based on previous training, take notes/observations if possible.
Finally, a first aider would hand over the notes when more medical help arrives and complete any necessary paperwork.
First aid is providing immediate life-saving medical attention before more medical help arrives. This can include CPR, external use of AED, stopping bleeding, keeping fractured limbs still and supported, etc.
The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 require that all employers provide appropriate and adequate first aid kits, facilities, and trained personnel to provide immediate medical assistance to employees if they are injured or sick at work.
Appropriate and adequate first aid kits depend on conditions in the workplace. A minimum of first aid in any workplace is one person in charge of a well-stocked first aid kit and first-aid arrangements. Accidents and illnesses can happen at any time in a workplace. Therefore, first aid should be available whenever there are people at work.
Employers should review first aid requirements to determine what level of coverage (number of trained people) and what type of first aid training courses these first aiders should attend.
Employees are also taking up mental health first aid training for staff. Mental health first aid in the initial response to the distress, and all participants understand that this assistance is provided until other appropriate or professional service is provided.
There are many emergency first aid at work courses where the attendees receive an Emergency First Aid at Work certificate that lasts for three years. This course includes the HSE syllabus for EFAW courses.
This includes dealing with workplace accidents, heart attack, cardiac arrest CPR, and how to use a life-saving AED defibrillator, stop bleeding, etc. The first aid training course will allow you to become a first aid provider in the workplace and deal with incidents following the law.
You can take a look at different first aid courses offered on the Ashtree Management Services Limited website for more details.
