Appropriately stocked workplace first aid kit is important for the health and safety of your employees. Its importance is in the fact that it offers the suitable supplies needed to treat the injury that has been sustained or to offer initial treatment that buys the time until the patient can reach the nearest medical facility.
For this to happen, the first aid kits need to be properly stocked, placed in locations that increase their visibility and clearly marked by signs and posters. Also, your employees need to be informed about the location and the contents of the first aid kits.
Maintaining the first aid kit requires regular checks to see if the cabinet is working properly and can easily be opened. All the perishable supplies need to be checked and replaced before their expiry date.
Alsco New Zealand rented first aid kits don’t need your attention in this way. Once you rent them, all the stocking and restocking is done by us. Rent your workplace first aid kits from Alsco NZ.
There are other reasons why an appropriate workplace first aid kit is important. These include:
- Enables self-help – In some situations, a person that sustains an injury is alone. There is nobody around and they have no contact with the first aiders. In that situation, the first course of action is the self-help, so the patient can be well enough to seek proper treatment.The well-stocked first aid kits are essential in those situations. Something like this usually occurs when the person is driving or works in a remote workplace with difficult access.
- Helps prevent excessive blood loss – Excessive bleeding is extremely dangerous. Significant blood loss can lead to unconsciousness, shock and eventually can be fatal. That is why it is important to dress the open wound as soon as possible.If the wound requires stitching, it should be done by professionals. However, the first aid kits have everything needed for the blood loss to be slowed down so that there is enough time for the professional medical personnel to administer advanced medical assistance.
- Facilitates everyday work – There will always be small injuries at work. Restaurant workers, for example, will often cut or burn themselves. If there is no first aid kit to quickly solve that minor setback, the employee will not be able to continue working with food.That is why your first aid kit needs to have adhesive dressings available in different sizes and shapes, so they can help sanitise those cuts and other minor workplace injuries.
- Prevents liability – According to the Health and Safety at Work Regulations it is employer’s duty to provide first aid facilities and the first aiders. The law says that there has to be first aid equipment in the workplace and that it has to be accessible for all employees.
- Demonstrates care for the employees – By boosting the first aid efforts and going well above the minimum legal requirements for the first aid, you are sending the message to the employees that you genuinely care about their workplace being. Saving on security and workplace safety doesn’t yield a healthy workplace environment and doesn’t send a positive message to the employees. Therefore, show that you care and ensure the best possible first aid kits.
- Boosts workplace morale – When employees know that their safety is the priority in the workplace, they feel more comfortable working in such an environment. That is the message that is being sent by positioning the first aid kits and AEDs in appropriate places. Additionally, first aid courses and training bring people closer to each other and boost the sense of team spirit and empathy. This can be introduced by offering your employees training about how to use the first aid kits.
- Saves time and money – Yes, you should not save money when it comes to safety. However, there are situations that can be solved equally well in one way or another. Minor cuts and injuries are such situations. Going to the ER for a minor cut or scrape, just because there is no proper wound dressing in the facilities means waiting healthcare money and time. Having a first aid kit available and treating such minor wound quickly.
- Buys the time in case of emergency – Ideally, at the moment the injury occurs, there is medical personnel to provide assistance. However, that is rarely the case, especially in the workplace. Unfortunately, the injuries and the emergencies don’t wait for anybody. The first aid kits supplies make it possible to provide a “good enough” treatment instantly which allows the patient to wait until the ambulance arrives.
- Prevents the escalation of the injury – Bleeding out means that the injury will only get worse. It can even have fatal results. Open wounds will get infected if not treated properly. The same goes for serious cuts and grazes. That is why first aid kits help you contain and minimise the negative effects of workplace injuries.
When First Aid Is Needed?
First aid is needed in a wide range of situations that go from minor cut and bruises to the serious instances of threatening open wounds and illnesses. Some of these situations include:
- Cuts, grazes and scrapes
- Joint dislocations, twists and injuries
- Hits and bumps
- Loss of consciousness and collapses
- Open wounds and blood loss
- Burns and cold injuries
There are other situations in which the first aid is appropriate. Whenever there is a situation that can be helped with an item from the first aid kit, it is the time to use it. However, this means that the first aid kits need to be restocked after every such situation.
Alsco New Zealand takes that weight off your shoulders, as our rental service includes regular stocking and restocking of the first aid supplies.
We install the first aid kits you rent from us, but that is not the end of our work. We will come to check if they are properly stocked and if the cabinets are operational. We will take care of the expired supplies and replace them with the fresh ones which makes your first aid kit usable.
Contact Alsco New Zealand and be prepared for all first aid emergencies.
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