First Aid Use Records vs. Accident Records

S

samsung

#11
Re: First Aid use records Vs Accident records

Per the contents list quoted above, one small question ...
Does this item cotton wool roll need to be sterilized too ?

The factories act book mentions so, and we are knocked on this.
No. Not the cotton wool but the eye pads and dressings need to be sterilized. These are pre-sterilized and sealed at the source. However, sterile & sealed cotton wool is also available but normally used by surgeons in operation theaters.

Unsterilized cotton wool is generally employed for supporting fractures etc. but cannot applied on cuts/burns/wounds etc.
 
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Ajit Basrur

Staff member
Admin
#12
Re: First Aid use records Vs Accident records

Allow me to disagree with you Ajit. The first-aid boxes are readily accessible even when locked, by leaving the keys in the custody of first-aid trained personnels (a lock with three keys permits three persons to open the lock). This also takes care of another requirement, that only a trained person will provide the first-aid.

On 'Indian Railways' the First-aid training is compulsory for all supervisors and officers, and this training used to be repeated atleast once in a year to ensure that the personnels remain well versed in first-aid. Anyone not qualifying the test, given by the Medical officer, was not considered for annual increment. Secondly, we provide one first-aid box on each shop floor and one in each office block for easy access.

Hope my explanation clears the point, and thanks for the attachments.

Umang :thanks:
May be a Yes and a No :)

In the truest sense, anything locked is not readily accessible. Having multiple keys and keeping with "trained" or "responsible" persons serve no meaning.

It reminds me of Emergency exits - can you lock it and keep the key with "trained" or "responsible" persons ?

First Aid is such a vital thing where delay in seconds (not minutes) could cost deary to the organization. Probably, the organization which prefers to keep these boxes locked consider band aids more valuable than lives !

Sorry, Umang, I would not agree with you :)
 

Ajit Basrur

Staff member
Admin
#13
Re: First Aid use records Vs Accident records

No. Not the cotton wool but the eye pads and dressings need to be sterilized. These are pre-sterilized and sealed at the source. However, sterile & sealed cotton wool is also available but normally used by surgeons in operation theaters.

Unsterilized cotton wool is generally employed for supporting fractures etc. but cannot applied on cuts/burns/wounds etc.
somashekhar,

Pl note to have absorbent cotton :)

Additionally not sure if the Indian regulations mandate that the grade of the cotton wool require a quality not less than a Pharmaceopeial grade like IP or BP. Most countries mandate this in the regulations.
 
R

rfquotations

#14
I guess everybody needs medical attentions of first aid especially when there is an emergency situations.
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#15
Re: First Aid use records Vs Accident records

Thanks very much. We have followed the Sec 45 and we have many trained people around, some who have training from the recognized centre and many others who have basic FA training provided by competent trainers. Their list and contact extension numbers are also displayed near the FA box.
In keeping with the spirit of FirstAid and not losing on time and to avoid other practical situations of immediate non availability of the authorized personnel and chances of missing key at the time of need (This believe me happend several times) ., we have resorted to keeping the FA box without lock. Even the outcome of our safety committee meetings suggested that it is better to have the FA box not locked for its better use at times of need for small causes like cuts, nics etc. (The Dettol, Cotton or Band-aid strip cases)



We never understood the act in this way that it implies must be kept locked.

So should we now go back to lock and key system ? Are there any other ways also ? Across the globe are FA box always kept locked ?
I had several of those big white First Aid boxes located throughout our facility, none locked. In our first years, we did have a lot of "shrinkage" of supplies and, of course, our service which kept the boxes supplied was extremely happy to keep refilling and billing us.

When the bill rose to a point that was noticeable, we managers became alarmed there were accidents, cuts, illnesses not being reported and that we needed to revamp our operation to identify and eliminate the causes. We implemented a report sheet system at each box, explaining to all staff our concern for their safety. The idea was for them to merely sign a name if they took supplies from the box and that we might interview them later to track down and mistake proof the process or activity which led to the need for the First Aid supplies. Miraculously, the "shrinkage" dropped by about 75% in the first full month. As we looked at the data, one of our managers first suspected we had been getting a short count from the service guy refilling the supplies and that, since we shared our concerns with him and his manager, telling them about the report system, we started getting an honest count. It was only in the second month or so we noticed during "management by walking around" that some employees were carrying their own aspirin or antacid tablets and we never did see Band Aids or some of the more specialized products which we had been paying for (ammonia inhalers, individual antibiotic creams, alcohol wipes, etc. Only then did it occur to us managers that the shrinkage was most likely in-house misunderstanding: that we were also stocking home medicine cabinets, it was not a safety issue, and not fraud by our refill service.

I might suggest that any effort at reform NOT stress the money or shrinkage aspect, but concentrate on concern for employee safety and potential improvements in processes to increase that safety. The sign out sheet and interview system might work for you as miraculously as it worked for us.
 
P

PotentCompoundSafety

#16
Re: First Aid use records Vs Accident records

Excellent response. I've seen this very same issue at several companies, where the employees mistakenly thought that these FA kits were a free benefit and their's for the taking. I've seen this also managed by having the receptionist, security guards, or similar freely accessible person manage the supplies and keep a log of the requests.
 
S

samsung

#17
Re: First Aid use records Vs Accident records

As to the question of locking the First Aid kits, there's an FAQ (Refer attachment in Post#5 by Ajit (current thread))

Q: Can I lock the first aid room/kit?
Rooms and kits must be accessible during working hours although you should establish measures to ensure rooms are not misused and kits are not subject to abuse or pilfering. It is an offence under S21. of the OHS Act to abuse first aid facilities.
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#18
Re: First Aid use records Vs Accident records

Excellent response. I've seen this very same issue at several companies, where the employees mistakenly thought that these FA kits were a free benefit and their's for the taking. I've seen this also managed by having the receptionist, security guards, or similar freely accessible person manage the supplies and keep a log of the requests.
My experience is that you only want a "gatekeeper" for the first aid supplies if that person is trained to render first aid for most if not all events. Otherwise, you just have a needless layer of bureaucracy and you may have added a delay to necessary First Aid (which usually depends as much upon promptness of response as well as expertise of the responder.) If you can't trust employees with a few dollars worth of non-narcotic medical supplies, how in hell can you trust them with a $500,000 production machine?

As I recall, the original kits cost about $150 each and were advertised as being for "100 employees." We had one for each ten employees. In a machine shop environment, you don't want anyone traveling any great distance to get to a kit and minor cuts and splinters from metal turnings are an everyday hazard if you are distracted enough to touch something without safety gloves. Coolant splashes and flying chips were a possible eye hazard (never happened in ten years - safety glasses were required for EVERYONE on the shop floor) so we had a portable eyewash station next to each first aid kit.
As a manager, I looked at the net cost to the organization for each of several optional scenarios for dealing with minor and major events which would require medical intervention:

  1. minor cuts and bruises - most folks could deal with those themselves if the right supplies were available and accessible
  2. headaches, allergy symptoms [hay fever, mostly], overheating, etc. - same as above
  3. serious cuts, loss of consciousness - we had direct lines throughout the facility (no switchboard interface) and all staff was trained to call 911 (emergency response) first and attempt to render aid afterward if they were aware of coworker or visitor having major difficulty.
I wasn't necessarily a genius who invented the process - I simply called the insurance broker who wrote our liability policy and he arranged for a free expert from the insurance company to come out and give us recommendations, which got us the lowest rate for our business. We were happy to have a re-audit each year - they also provided training sessions in first aid for us. I sure wish the insurance guys had alerted us to the "shrinkage" thing about the supplies. That was one of those hard lessons in life which had all in the executive suite slapping their foreheads and saying, "Of course!"

In point of fact, the most serious event we had in ten years was one employee who had an anxiety attack (ultimate diagnosis) with symptoms that mimicked a heart attack - chest pains and cramps, clammy, sweaty skin, shortness of breath, loss of color. He went via ambulance to the emergency room after the EMTs had him hooked to an EKG for about five minutes. He went home after about 4 hours of observation at the hospital and was back at work the next day. No recurrence on the job for the next 3 years. (We never inquired of ANYONE about events outside of work - confidentiality!)
 
T

tyker

#19
Slightly :topic:

In the UK, I've never seen a first aid kit with cough drops, aspirin and so on. Increasingly even antiseptic creams are taboo due to concerns about liability if the patient has an allergic reaction. The only items in the first aid kits in my factory which are not dry are alcohol free wipes and eye wash liquid.

Consequently, we only have simple bandages, pads and plasters, none of which are expensive and we don't have a pilfering problem.
 
T

tamale

#20
May I suggest that you seal the first aid kits with a plastic seal that can broken with bare hands. This dissuades pilfering the kits and reserves them for serious interventions.

As for minor cuts and scrapes keep band-aids and antiseptic readily availlable.

As well (as mentionned by Wes) keep a log of all usage however minor. The statistics gathered will help you identify danger zones and apply appropriate corrective action.

If employees are taking too many band-aids home then consider a system such as Salvequick. It is a band-aid dispenser that opens the band-aid as you pull it out making it impossible to bring home!

As for medicines, in Canada the law forbides an employer from dispensing them. Only antiseptics are permitted. Employees however are free to bring their own apirins and such.

Hope this helps,


Tamale
 
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