Practical safety management: first aid in the workplace

01-08-2014

Effective management of incidents within the workplace relies on proper first aid preparation, information and adequately trained first aid personnel. One of the most important functions of effective incident management is having the immediate capability to respond to incidents and injuries in the workplace as they occur.

This document will outline the two avenues of first aid compliance recommended within Victoria, identify documents to be referenced when undertaking first aid administration and provide practical guidance for first aid compliance.

Download the compliance code.

VWA: First Aid Compliance Code

The VWA first aid compliance code ‘First aid in the workplace’ is the cornerstone of first aid compliance advice within Victoria. The intention of the compliance code is to ‘provide practical guidance to employers on how to comply with duties under the law (Victorian) to provide appropriate first aid facilities in workplaces’. The code gives two general avenues of attain workplace compliance, the ‘Prescribed approach’ or the ‘Risk assessment approach’.

Employers must remember that no matter which approach they decide upon, all employees (and visitors if induction takes place) must be made aware of the site first aid capability (i.e. Name of first aider(s), location of kit(s), specialist equipment etc.)

These methods can be found within the compliance code and are briefly summarised below.

Prescribed Approach

As the name suggests, the prescribed approach outlines specific minimum requirements dependent upon whether the workplace is high or low risk and the number of employees.

This outlines information as required by the VWA such as number of FA officers, FA kit(s) required and whether first aid room(s) is/are required. Generally, SafetyZone recommends this approach in all cases with the exception of complex business activities.

If the ‘Prescribed Approach’ is selected, this must be followed in its entirety by the business.

Risk Assessment Approach

The first aid risk assessment approach involves a more comprehensive assessment of the activities of the firm to ascertain the site/organisational specific hazards which may be required to be faced by first aider(s). Generally, SafetyZone recommends this approach where businesses are undertaking complex business activities such as petrochemical manufacturing or mining.

The risk assessment approach allows greater control by the workplace however; the onus of compliance is upon the Health and Safety Manager to make reasonable decisions with regard to first aid. This option should not be undertaken without an experienced professional reviewing your plans.

Information regarding effective administration of First Aid in your workplace

The following is not an exhaustive list of requirements to ensure your business meets the compliance code, moreover, the following is experienced based knowledge our expert consultants have collected over years of workplace assessments.

These following points outline good practical ways to best prepare for emergency situations.

First Aider Training and Selection

  • Any first aider requires a minimum First Aid Certificate II qualification.
  • First aid needs to be re-qualified every three years.
  • CPR component needs to be re-qualified annually.
  • First aider(s) must be offered infection immunisation.
    • Minimum: Hepatitus B, however Hepatitus A, C and Tetanus are recommended.
  • First aider(s) should have knowledge or access to knowledge (i.e. OHS Manager) of their requirements in terms of Workcover Authority (VWA) notifiable incidents.
  • It is best practice for first aider(s) to make arrangements with local medical services (this relationship is also important for Return to Work (RTW) management).

Information in relation to first aid kit(s)

  • Understand your workplace activities and hazards
    • Whether following the prescribed or risk assessment approach it is important to understand the hazards your employees face and setup the first aid kit(s) accordingly.
  • This ensures the first aider(s) have/has necessary equipment to deal with incidents expected to be faced within the workplace.
  • Ensure a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and summary risk assessment is kept for any chemical used within the workplace. Generally, these should be kept in the chemical store OR with the first aid kit(s) if chemicals are spread throughout the workplace.
    • This outlines First Aid measures for a variety of exposure routes, however, calling Victorian Poisons Information Centre 13 11 26 is often faster.
  • Check your first aid kit(s) regularly to ensure adequate stock.
    • This needs to be completed as often as is required by the workplace. As a minimum within small businesses, this can be completed monthly or after incident but frequency should increase dependent upon use factors (i.e. number of incidents, size of workforce).
    • A checklist for each kit(s) is the best method of ensuring all kit(s) are attended to and create a shopping list for re-stocking.
      • Firms can be contracted to periodically complete this for you i.e. St John Ambulance.
  • Throw out any paracetamol or other medication products which first aider(s) are not trained to administer. Drugs should never be administered by first aider(s) with no knowledge of patient prior-conditions.
    • Where the patient has an epipen or ventalin, the patient may be assisted in its’ administration.
  • Identify any specialist conditions of staff upon recruitment and ensure these are included within the first aid risk assessment as required.
    • Once conditions are known by the management, they should be managed for as far as practicable. I.e. If an employee requires an Epipen, this should be kept within the first aid kit(s) or a mutually known position such as the employees drawer.
  • Ensure your first aid kit(s) is appropriately signed as per AS1319: Safety Signs for the Occupational Environment.
    • Practically speaking, consult with your local safety store provider as per your sign needs.

Note: It is recommended that first aid room(s) is/are professionally setup to ensure compliance as per section 58 of the compliance code.

Information to be displayed with the first aid kit(s)

  • Designate and identify your workplace first aider(s)
    • Minimum information: Photo, name and mobile number (larger sites)
      • A poster identifying emergency contact information should be made next to the first aid kit(s) outlining local emergency contact information such as:
  • Local Emergency, SES, CFA/MFB and other business specific organisations i.e. poisons hotline.
    • The ‘If you are injured at work poster’ outlines important information which is required to be made freely available to employees in the workplace and as such must be displayed at all times.
  • Incident report forms should be kept within the first aid kit(s).
    • This ensure the first aider(s) sees the book every time they open the first aid kit(s) and reminds them to record any incident for Safety Management System (SMS) administration and compliance to the Health Records Act 2001. 

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