FIRST AID KITS – THE MUST HAVES FOR OFFICE AND HOME

Accidents happen and since an accident is described as “an unplanned and unforeseen event” we are seldom ready and prepared to take action when it happens. Whether at home or at office, it is essential to have a basic first aid kit on hand

The regulation also emphasises that the responder or person using the contents of the first aid kit to assist someone else must have knowledge about the application of the contents. Training of staff is very important and it is advised that you use a training facility that can issue a formal certificate upon completion of the training.

The Regulations stipulate that a workplace with 10 employees or more must have a dedicated first aid officer. In shops and offices you need one first aid officer per 100 employees and for other workplaces, like factories, one first aid officer per 50 employees.

There are many reasons why employers ignore the importance of a trainer first aid officer in the workplace. These include that they do not have the time or money for training, they believe that they will know what to do in case something happens and, besides, “nothing will happen”. Until an accident occurs and then everyone is looking at the next person to take the lead.

First aid is vital to controlling a situation in which medical care is needed: • It saves lives: A trained person will be calm and collected when something happens and will be able to think and act in a way that could save lives.

victim: Having someone who is calm whilst assessing the situation will help the victim to relax. Also, a steady, trained hand providing relief to the victim will also help to calm the victim in a stressful situation.

getting worse: Training will assist you to stabilise the patient until emergency workers arrive. This can often prevent the patient’s condition from worsening fast. Also, important information can be obtained from the patient, which can be relayed to the emergency team and will speed up the treatment actions taken.

Having the knowledge will boost your confidence and will help you to guide others should an accident occur. The knowledge to assess the seriousness will also benefit you as an individual and you will be able to act and provide care with confidence.

With the training and the knowledge comes a greater awareness of the environment. This will help create

higher safety levels as you will be aware of dangerous situations and as a trained First Aid officer you will encourage co-workers to be more careful.

The following items are the minimum First Aid contents as required by law under the Health and Safety Act: Item 1 Wound cleaner / antiseptic (100ml) Item 2 Gauze Swabs for cleaning wounds x 25 Item 3 Cotton wool for padding (100g) Item 4 Sterile gauze (minimum quantity 10) Item 5 1 x pair of forceps (for splinters) Item 6 1 x pair of scissors (minimum size 100mm) Item 7 1 x set of safety pins Item 8 4 x triangular bandages Item 9 4 x conforming bandages (75mm x 5m) Item 10 4 x conforming bandages (100mm x 5m) Item 11 1 x roll of elastic adhesive (25mm x 3m) Item 12 1 x Non-allergenic adhesive strip (25mm x 3m) Item 13 1 x Packet of adhesive dressing strips (minimum quantity 10 assorted sizes) Item 14 4 x First aid dressings – No 3 (75mm x 100mm) Item 15 4 x First aid dressings – No 5 (150mm x 200mm) Item 16 2 x Straight splints Item 17 2 x Pairs large and 2 x pairs medium disposable latex gloves Item 18 2 x CPR mouth pieces or similar devices Item 19 Adequate supply of absorbent material – like paper towels – for absorption of blood and other body fluids spilled Item 20 Disinfectant to disinfect the area after cleaning up blood and other body fluids spilled. Item 21 1 x Pair large and 1 x pair medium disposable rubber household gloves. Item 22 2 x 2-ply Paper face masks Item 23 1 x Absorbent gel (50g) Item 24 A suitable sized self-seal bag for the safe disposal of blood and other body fluid contaminated biohazard materials

Something that will be evident from the above list is the lack of medication. The reason for this is quite simple: giving any medication to an employee is illegal. Medicines, even aspirin, can only be dispensed by a pharmacist because if an employee were to have an adverse reaction to medication, the situation would be exacerbated and the company could be deemed liable for injury or death.

Home first aid kits are a whole lot more comprehensive, predominantly because it will include medication. A first aid kit should be fairly diverse in content to cater for any eventuality from minor cuts, scrapes, allergic reactions and burns, splinters, non-life-threatening insect bites and stings, blisters, rashes, sprains and strains, something stuck in the eye, hypoglycaemia, aches and pain, to digestive system problems (nausea, indigestion/heartburn, diarrhoea or constipation).

If you stay in rural/remote countryside areas, you may need a kit for situations like farming accidents, snake bites, broken bones and heat stroke. With knowledge of the health conditions of your immediate family, you can keep limited quantities of their prescription medication and off-the-shelf medication but be mindful of expiry dates. Your home kit can also travel along on holidays and outings so that you have the comfort of knowing you are safe in case something happens.

Although it is not necessary to have medication for every possible scenario, painkillers, antacids, rehydration sachets and medication for nausea and diarrhoea and something to reduce a fever are all solid ideas. Adding flu meds and lozenges as the seasons change can also be useful.

Filling a first aid kit and spending a fortune is fine, however in all likelihood you will need to go through it periodically and remove expired medications. The recommendation is therefore to not buy huge packs and vast swathes of medication as you will almost certainly have to dispose of most of the contents within 12-24 months from date of purchase.

Once you are all stocked up, remember to keep the kit where it can easily be reached, but safely away from small children. A good idea is to keep a list of the family’s medical history close by, your own included, in case the emergency is such that you need help too and someone else needs to administer the medicine. Do not remove any medication from the original packaging for ease of reference as well. �