Earlier this year I wrote about the role of the first-aider and the responsibilities he/she has. Nevertheless, we still notice a lot of confusion and misconceptions about first-aiders. In today's blog I will clarify this.
A common misunderstanding I come across is the mis-understanding about 'first' in 'first-aid' or 'first-aider'. There are still people out there who believe that 'first' either means 'first-class quality', 'first in line' or ' he who came first in class at training sessions for aiders'. Hearing these views always makes me smile, but at the same time, they also make me cry. It makes me wonder how many dangerous workplaces still exist when these perceptions still exist.
First-aiders are nothing more, or less, than people who will establish a baseline situation that will allow trained personnel to excel. When an incident occurs, all the first-aider has to do is:
- Secure the area
- Contact trained emergency services
- Check the victim for ABC (are Airways clear, is the patient Breathing and is blood Circulating?)
- Maintain contact with, and update (if necessary) the emergency service about developments that may change or alter the situation before they arrive
- Provide comfort and care to the victim and/or witness, if and where possible
There are no basic requirements for people to become a first-aider and it is very difficult to determine upfront who will be successful as a fist-aider and who will be disappointing. It doesn't take any previous education or experience for people to be trained as a first-aider, but that doesn't mean that they can go without training.
Successful first-aiders are those who manage to keep a cool head and act rationally when a situation occurs. That is an ability that doesn't come naturally but it is certainly something that can be trained. First-aiders of every age, shape, gender or background can be trained to be prepared. By simply introducing them to some basics, discussing the inevitable or showing the consequences of their actions, they can be taught to avoid certain actions or to take all necessary steps.
While it is advisable to 'only have one captain on a ship' I believe this shouldn't mean that companies should limit the number of first-aiders they have available within their organisation.
People who are trained about how to respond in case of an emergency will have the ability to keep a cool head and act rationally. This will always be useful as it is human nature to jump into survival mode the moment they are involved in an incident or accident. While employees might have survived the first incident initially, the last thing companies want to report is a casualty who got trampled to death when employees tried to flee the scene.
The decision of who should be a first-aider within the workplace is not something that should be left up to the willingness of the individual employee. Some sections of the workplace are more likely to experience incidents than others. It is, therefore, advisable to engage with Human Resources, management, unions and employees to determine the number and calibre of a first-aider within a department. Staff should even be encouraged to identify persons in their midst whom they think would be able to become excellent first-aiders. While it will be hard to determine upfront how successful a first-aider will be, it always helps when using the sixth sense as a guide.
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