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I agree with Martin and Chris this is a very complex requirement and a variety of types of equipment would need to be carried. It sounds as if, essentially, the ambulance staff would have to treat a casualty who may be contaminated with any chemical and may not have been under a safety shower and have had their contaminated clothes removed.. I think the best advice would be to talk to the local fire and rescue service and see what medical they advise for this aspect of the work of their staff. Really I would have thought the priority would be to remove the casualty from the pool of whatever chemical it is and wash it off with saline/water before touching them- ask the workers/manager present what action they take for spills and apply the same-(they may be able to provide you with the gloves and equipment) The first thing in First Aid situation, is to assess the situational and ensure it is safe to attend the casualty- it may be that the ambulance crew may have to wait until the Fire and rescue team arrive before they can safely attend to the casualty. Best wishes, Diane ----- Original Message ----- From: "Porter Suzanne" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, January 23, 2004 2:14 PM Subject: Re: Medicals for staff cleaning up chemical spillages Sorry, they will really be treating the casualty who may be amidst the chemical. They may have to clean up the spill surrounding the casualty if Fire & Rescue are not there. As to what chemicals, well I don't know - but it could be anything if it's involved in an accident. Su -----Original Message----- From: Diane romano woodward [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 23 January 2004 14:04 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Medicals for staff cleaning up chemical spillages Under what circumstances would they be cleaning up chemicals?And what chemicals? I used to work in a chemical warehouse which had an emergency team for cleaning up spills. They did use BA (breathing apparatus) and so a fairly traditional BA medical was used- although we bore in mind that they would not be using BA to climb stairs etc as the warehouse was all on one floor. OH involvement also included the authorising of special spectacles for use under the BA(they either slotted into the mask or has very thin arms. It was a bit difficult to persuade warehouse staff to shave regularly in case they got a call out- perhaps not so much of a problem with ambulance workers although they wouldn't be able to have beard and use BA( I assume this still applies). The other aspect is thinking about women ambulance workers who may be pregnant and handling the chemicals. In terms of suits , if it is particularly thick, one might have to bear in mind potential overheating. Best wishes, Diane ----- Original Message ----- From: "Porter Suzanne" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, January 23, 2004 1:36 PM Subject: Medicals for staff cleaning up chemical spillages Hi All Does anyone carry out medicals for ambulance staff who wear suits to clean up chemical spillages? We are being asked to assess our ambulance staff and I am as yet waiting to find out what sort of suit they will have to wear, whether it involves full B.A., and whether any of the kit contains latex. I would be interested to hear from anyone who is already doing this or who has any advice. Many thanks Su Porter Snr. Occupational Health Nurse Advisor St. Mary's Hospital Newport Isle of Wight PO30 5TG 01983 534209/534884 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please remove this footer before replying. Visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html for list archives ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please remove this footer before replying. Visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html for list archives ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please remove this footer before replying. Visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html for list archives