FIRST AID WORKPLACE LIFESAVERS
Steve Overton, Managing Director of Laerdal, explains the importance of implementing successful CPR training in your workplace.
Aside from your home, you spend more time at work than anywhere else. According to the Office of National Statistics, UK workers spend an average of just over 39 paid hours at work per week. During this time, it is highly likely that a colleague will suffer an injury or illness, particularly in high hazard industries. But would you be able to save a life with CPR if the time came?
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY? There are 30,000 cardiac arrests each year in the UK and the chances are that one of these could occur in your workplace. According to The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations
1981 and guidance from the Health and Safety Executive, employers are required to ensure that employees receive the correct attention immediately following an injury or after they are taken ill at work. The law also states that in high hazard workplaces, or those with 25 employees or more, the employer should provide a sufficient number of first aiders, whose training includes CPR.
HEART ATTACK VS. CARDIAC
ARREST: THE DIFFERENCE A YouGov poll for the British Heart Foundation in 2014 showed that 21% of people did not know that there was a difference between a cardiac arrest and a heart attack.
A heart attack occurs when there is a sudden interruption to the blood supply to part of the heart muscle. The heart still sends blood around the body and the person remains conscious and breathing.
A cardiac arrest can be caused by a heart attack and occurs when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood around the body. This causes a sudden loss of consciousness and for the individual to stop breathing. Unless immediately treated by CPR, a cardiac arrest can lead to death within minutes.
THE CAUSES OF
A CARDIAC ARREST Although an office environment may not feel like a particularly dangerous place, a lack of oxygen to the body as a result of choking is a common cause of cardiac arrests, so it is possible that you may have to jump into action during a lunchtime client meeting. In more hazardous environments such as construction settings, injuries can cause a significant loss of blood which is also a common cause of a cardiac arrest.
Extensive use of electrical equipment means that electrocution has become a more common occurrence across various workplaces, not just in manufacturing or utility sectors. Voltage as low as 50 volts can trigger
28
muscle spasms which can cause the worker to be unable to let go of a charged object. This prolonged length of shock time will increase the subsequent effects, such as preventing the heart from beating properly. When the heart is unable to beat properly, the individual may suffer a heart attack which could then lead to a cardiac arrest.
HOW CAN YOU PUT CPR
TRAINING IN PLACE? In each of these cases, CPR training could be the key to saving a life. The British Heart Foundation offers dedicated CPR kits for the workplace and the training takes no more than 30 minutes. Training ranges from ‘hands- on’ classes with training manikins to purely internet-based distance- learning instruction. However, it is recommended that training should include practice on a training manikin.
Workplaces may also wish to invest in an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) which monitors the rhythm of the heart and can deliver an electric shock to try and restore a normal heart rhythm if necessary, or a Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) which is specifically designed for public use by providing step-by-step guidance. This means that users do not need to be trained to use a PAD.
Although CPR cannot replace the care provided by the emergency services, effective CPR can more than double the chance of someone surviving a cardiac arrest. As a cardiac arrest is considered to be a Category A call, the emergency services are required to arrive within eight minutes, but this could take longer in rural areas, so CPR is vital during this time. CPR is simple to implement in the workplace and vital in ensuring that workers do not suffer or die unnecessarily.
www.laerdal.com
www.tomorrowshs.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58