The Importance of First Aid Kit

Those of us who have been involved in sporting activities or associated with sporting events are very much familiar with what used to be called ‘First Aid Box’ in our early days of schooling. If your school never had one, you must have been to the same school us me. Don’t worry too much about that. ‘First Aid Box’ as we used to call it is now known as ‘First Aid Kit.’ 

But has it ever occurred to you First Aid Kit it’s a must have item for every home. It is one important thing most if not all of us, overlook. We don’t really see its usefulness. It is only when we sustained some minor injuries that we run to the pharmacy shops. You don’t need a very big First Aid Kit for your home. All that you need is a small kit with basic first aid items. Just visit a pharmacy near you and speak to the attendant to help you put one together for your personal safety and that of your family.
http://nzikpidordorblog.wordpress.com

Photo credit: allwomentalk.com
Just as First Aid kit is a must have for all homes, same applies to organisations. But there are several factors that influence first aid kit. We would look at a few of them.
General risk level of the work place: high or low risk.

Accident history: accident prone company or frequency of accidents determines what first aid kit is required.

Hazards present in the work place: the type of hazard determines the first aid kit.

Presence of vulnerable persons at the work place: pregnant women, minors, hearing impairment, the deaf, etc.

Number of people at the work place: the larger the workforce, the more fully stocked first aid kits you need.

Geographical location of the work place: When the company is close to a health facility, there would be no need for fully stocked first aid kit.

Patterns of work and shift systems: hazardous works follow strict procedures and enough resources must be provided for shifts to be properly coordinated.

Specific procedures required i.e. some specific toxic materials have specific antidotes or first aid.

Those are the factors that usually determine what items should be stocked in a first aid kit. A company whose activities are considered high risk would have first aid kit stocked with items that are completely different from a company with low risk for example telephony services, supermarkets and schools. Moreover, while low risk company can rely on one fully stocked first aid kit, a high risk company will have multiples of first aid kit stationed at various locations in the work place in addition to the following: splints, blankets, stretchers, eye-wash stations, emergency showers, wheel chairs and resuscitation equipment. 

Unlike homes, administering first aid in a high risk company requires a special training. It’s not the prerogative of just anyone except in extreme cases where there are minor injuries. Let me emphasize though that it all depends on the health and safety culture of the organisation you find yourself.

NOTE: 
Know the location of the nearest first aid kit in your work place.

Get a first aid kit for your home.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Safety Matters – Know Your Environment

Image
In this series as captioned above, I want us to discuss our environment. It is extremely important to know your environment in order to ensure your personal safety and the safety of those around you. Your environment can be your house, inside your car, inside a plane, your office, the street, school, hospital. Generally speaking, it refers to wherever you find yourself at a given time. It does not have to necessarily be enclosure.  Apart from your house and perhaps your car which are considered your most immediate environments and which you’re very familiar with, you need to be given orientation on those other environments that are a bit remote to you.  Let’s look at a few examples: when you board a flight, a flight attendant would explain to you all the safety measures you need to take during an emergency. For instance he would show you all the exit points on the flight, emphasising that you must use the nearest one during an emergency. When you work in an office sett
Read more

He Didn't Die Like a Soldier

He walked on the battlefield Bullets flying all around him Yet none flew close to his fur Because he was not a target He was safe even among reverberating grenades and tanks He did not swear to protect himself But his people...his own people at his own peril Yet he had to die at the hands of this blood-sucking barbarians Who mistook him for animal And pelted him with rocks His bones crunched as he pleaded for mercy His innocent blood was shed His frozen tears formed a confluence of blood Flowing freely like a fountain Mistake him not for a coward For pulling the trigger could have saved him From these wolves Who were only after sniffing his life out of him. He must die one day But not this way Not to be killed like a common criminal. He died in his prime serving his country, Serving his countrymen, Serving people who did not see his use - people who did not believe in him. He coul
Read more

Neglecting People with Disability in Our Society

Image
Persons with disability are integral part of our society. Though in minority, their needs cannot be overlooked. A lot may have been achieved on the front of granting equal rights and opportunities to persons with disability which appear to be the main focus of many governments across the world, but for me, there are some key areas our leaders tend to underestimate.   The Disabled Persons Act of Ghana and the UN Commitment to Advancement of the Status of Persons with Disabilities only talked about equal rights, equal opportunities, no discrimination against persons with disability among others, but fall short of stating clearly its position on the design of public facilities. This may have informed the resolve of some section of our disable community to advocate for buildings that take their condition into account. In the recent past, that advocacy has gone on with focus on design of public buildings. The advocacy program wanted to ensure that public buildings are designed in
Read more