I agree with Anne Harriss' comments. A company I worked for a few years
ago had a first aid service where I think 10% of the workforce were
trained as first aiders (a large steel producing company). Despite the
high numbers of first aiders on site. Casualties still arrived on occ.
Health's doorstep for treatment. It was part of occ. health role to
refill first aid boxes around the site also. It took some effort on out
part to get through to the workforce and managers that the trained first
aiders could do the majority of what we did, the main exception being
that we had been trained also in advanced life support. Even the unions
got involved at the time.
Once the dust settled, everything was fine, and all accidents were dealt
with by the first aiders unless the casualty required advanced life
support. The main benefit to our department were that we no longer
needed to provide a 24/7 service and could concentrate on occupational
health, thereby reducing our costs and charges to our customers.
Kind Regards,
David Woodley
Senior Occupational Health Nurse
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: 07 April 2016 14:14
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [OCC-HEALTH] First Aid
You obviously enjoy a treatment based clinical role. One particular
downside
is that your employer has a statutory duty to provide a certain number
of
qualified first aiders first-aiders and this is dependant on the degree
of
risk. In the heavy industry sector that will be a significant number
which
comes at a significant cost in both time to attend training and the cost
of
the training courses they attend. They will rapidly become de-skilled if
they do not practice what they have been taught.
I agree that advising on and managing the first-aid provision is an
important function of an OH service. Providing a treatment service
results
in there being less time for pro-active OH advisory role which involves
health protection and health promotion, including interventions
associated
with statutory and non-statutory health surveillance, accident
prevention
not to mention developing strategies designed to support employees with
long
term conditions or following significant periods of sickness absence as
part
of vocational rehabilitation.
I am sure others will hold a range of views and this could be an
interesting
debate.
Anne
Anne Harriss
Associate Professor
Course Director
LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY
On 07/04/2016 12:53, "Sandra Coyne"
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I have worked in heavy industry for over 20 years and have always
provided
> first aid and been part of emergency response teams. Yes we had first
aiders
> but the companies employed them to do a job and employed a nurse to
take care
> of the employees plus the usual medicals ect. They would not like the
fact
> that they had to pull a first aider off a job sometimes when they are
working
> at height or a mile away from the first aid centre to clean out
someone's eyes
> or clean a laceration when a nurse was in the first aid center. I have
always
> been available for anyone who wanted to talk over a problem, or wanted
> information , I have found this a very interesting part of the job and
also
> you get to know the employees more so than if you were just doing
medicals ect
> so I for one will still provide first aid if and when needed and be
very happy
> to do so.
>
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