10 Advantages Of Knowing Emergency First Aid At Work

1. 1. It Helps Save Lives

At the workplace, no matter which industry a company belongs to, risks are present and accidents can happen. In fact, the number of workplace-related injuries, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics averages 2.8 out of 100 employees working in the private sector in the United States get injured each year as of 2019. This means there were 2.8 million nonfatal accidents in the workplace, and this was the same in both 2017 and 2018.

Every year, many people sustain injuries and die due to untimely assistance from medical professionals, which could have been prevented. This is where knowing emergency first aid makes a lot of difference. Therefore, it must be ensured that employees know emergency first aid through first aid training will help prevent further complications by providing proper and immediate treatment, increasing the patient’s chances of survival.

1. 2. It Improves Overall Safety In The Workplace

As mentioned, risks are inevitable, especially in the workplace. This makes it imperative to conduct first aid training to increase employees’ knowledge of emergency first aid. This is because knowing emergency first aid at work helps to enhance everyone’s safety in the workplace.

The improved safety is achieved because knowledge of emergency first aid work allows all employees to learn how to prevent the same kind of accidents from happening again. This is possible because employees get to become more safety conscious, thereby helping lower cases of accidents in the workplace.

Furthermore, when employees feel confident about emergency first aid knowledge, they’re more likely to be proactive about preventing accidents from happening. They’ll also know what steps to take if an accident occurs, and they will be able to respond promptly to minimise harm. As a result, they’ll be able to enhance the overall safety of everyone in the workplace.

1. 3. It Promotes Quicker Response During Emergencies

Another advantage of knowing emergency first aid is that employees are well-equipped to quickly provide medical aid to the injured colleague. Once employees are well-trained and knowledgeable in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), they’ll be able to quickly provide medical aid to the injured colleague while waiting for the paramedics to arrive.

This is vital because it can prove to be the difference between life and death. With this in mind, first aid training is something businesses and organisations should prioritise regardless of whether they operate in a field with a high risk of accidents.

1. 4. It Lowers The Frequency Of Workplace Accidents 

It’s best to prevent a workplace accident and injury before it happens. This can be best achieved if every employee has emergency first aid knowledge and skill. With such knowledge, employees will be more conscious about safety in the workplace and have an awareness of common situations that pose risks and may cause accidents.

With such knowledge, awareness, and consciousness, employees will be more proactive in preventing any risks and hazards in the workplace, reducing the frequency of workplace accidents. With this, businesses and organisations must make it a priority to conduct regular first-aid training.

With the reduced incidence of accidents in the workplace, thanks to emergency first aid knowledge, employees can safely go about their routine duties without being overly concerned about their well-being. As a result, this will boost the morale of employees since they know their health and safety can be well catered to in the unfortunate event an accident does happen. This positivity will, in turn, boost their productivity and result in improved company performance.

1. 5. It Prevents An Emergency Situation From Worsening

2. 

Another reason why every employee needs to know how to administer first aid at the workplace is because this helps prevent an emergency situation from getting worse. After all, the goal isn’t just about helping the injured victim but also preventing their condition from deteriorating further before the arrival of medical personnel.

Knowing how to react correctly during such an emergency will help the victim and keep onlookers calm. These are two crucial factors that can significantly prevent the victim’s condition from worsening.

Additionally, with proper knowledge of emergency first aid, employees will have a better perception and can recognise the potential hazards that may further cause complications. For instance, if the accident was caused by electrical shocks or chemical burns, they’ll recognise the hazards that caused this and deal with these by safely isolating or removing them from the area.

This helps ensure that no one else is harmed, and no further complications will be sustained by the injured employee. As a result, the unwanted emergency is prevented from becoming worse.

1. 6. Knowledge On How To Correctly Use First Aid Kits

There’s no point in having first aid kits spread across a workplace if employees don’t know how to use them correctly. This is why in addition to making sure there’s easy access to first aid kits, employees must be trained on administering emergency first aid response to treat any injured person on the spot.

Having knowledge of emergency first aid ensures that employees know how to use first aid kits and administer treatment best while they wait for the ambulance to arrive. This helps greatly to reduce the severity of workplace injury and saves precious time for saving the injured person.

With proper emergency first aid training, every employee will know how to properly utilise first aid kits and apply bandages and splints. In addition, proper training ensures employees will have enough knowledge and confidence that they can act quickly without panicking.

1. 7. It Reduces Recovery Time 

While many people know the importance of first aid response in an emergency situation, what’s often overlooked are the benefits that such response can have on a company’s overall productivity.

First aid response reduces recovery time for injured staff because a proper and faster response to an injury or illness before paramedics arrive helps reduce the severity of the patient’s injuries and prevents further complications.

With this, they’ll spend less time out of work due to prolonged recovery time. As a result, they won’t be absent from work for very long which could negatively impact the company’s overall productivity. Therefore, to ensure optimal business productivity, businesses must make regular first aid training in the workplace a priority.

1. 8. Helps Employees Enhance Patient Comfort

Some workplace-related accidents aren’t severe and do not require taking the injured colleague to the hospital. For instance, injuries such as fever or a bruised elbow can be best dealt with through first aid. But no matter how small the injuries are, the injured person still experiences unwanted pain. Because of this, first aid techniques are needed to enhance such a patient’s comfort during this stressful time.

Luckily, knowing first aid allows employees to enhance patient comfort. This is because they can help the patient relax and breathe, especially when the patient has difficulty breathing. Employees can also give them something for pain or nausea, such as paracetamol or an anti-sickness pill.

Knowing first aid techniques will also help every employee offer care for patients with certain conditions such as fractures or burns, shock, and other life-threatening conditions. This is because they can quickly assess the severity of an injury or illness and how long it would take for treatment.

With a good grasp of first aid skills in an emergency, the condition of an injured colleague may be alleviated by knowing how to calm them down. This helps ensure they’re calm and relaxed while waiting for the emergency medical personnel to arrive.

1. 9. It Can Help Prevent Infection 

Knowing how to prevent and treat infection is among the first things taught during first aid training. This is because the actions to treat an injured person following a workplace accident determine whether they’ll suffer from an infection.

The more prepared employees are, the quicker treatment is administered. With this, the injured person is less likely to get infected. But if there’s a delay, the chances of infection will increase significantly. Because of this, the knowledge of first aid among employees is crucial as it allows everyone to know what to do to prevent the chances of infection.

Without first aid training, the severity of the injury would most likely worsen due to a lack of proper treatment.

1. 10. It Enhances Employees’ Confidence To Care For An Injured Colleague 

Knowledge of emergency first aid also enhances employees’ confidence to care for their injured colleagues. This is because they feel more confident about their ability and knowledge of first aid, which is important in a stressful situation.

Employees get this confidence through first aid training, which provides them with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to deal with emergencies in the workplace. As a result, they’re confident even when faced with life-threatening emergencies and have the proper knowledge and confidence to assist in a crisis.

The training on the emergency first aid at work can be tailored to suit the needs of every business or organisation. Here is the range of courses to choose from:

• Basic First Aid

This course teaches staff how to deal with minor injuries like cuts and scrapes. They are also given basic life support skills, such as putting someone into the recovery position and using an airway device when breathing has stopped.

• Advanced First Aid

This course teaches staff how to deal with more serious injuries, such as broken bones or internal bleeding. They are also given advanced life support skills, such as performing CPR on someone unresponsive due to cardiac arrest or other medical emergencies requiring immediate attention from trained first responders like paramedics or firefighters.

• First Responder

This course helps staff understand their role in an emergency by teaching them how first responders must respond if they notice a problem during routine duties such as cleaning up spills or maintaining.