When it comes to health and safety in the workplace, prevention is always better than the cure. Having a robust approach to health and safety, and doing what you can to mitigate any risks to your employees’ wellbeing is vital. That said, prevention isn’t enough. At some point, someone is going to get injured or collapse or have some sort of health emergency and you should ensure that your workplace is prepared for it.
Prepare a policy
You shouldn’t leave it to fate as to how you handle accidents at the workplace. Consider working with a health and safety consultant that can help you craft the policy that you need. This can involve steps on how to help with specific injuries or emergencies. After all, different steps may be needed in the event of a laceration compared to a seizure or a heart attack. With the help of a consultant, you can have steps outlined for you and your team to take to make sure that you can mitigate the harm caused and take the appropriate steps to get the affected individual the help that they need.
Give your team the skills that they need
Your team (and you, yourself) can play a much more active role in caring for someone in a critical situation, as well. While it’s important to know the boundaries of when medical professionals should step in, you can learn more about the first aid and CPR certifications that you can help your team acquire. This way, they might be equipped to provide emergency care while waiting for medics or an ambulance to appear.
Have someone to take over
When you’re dealing with a medical emergency, you may need to take the time to directly address the situation, making sure that the individual gets the care they need, is transported for care, and that you notify the necessary bodies. While this happens, you might not be able to handle the responsibilities of management and leadership that you normally would. To that end, you should make sure that you have someone you can assign as an emergency preparedness leader that can do the essentials, Have at least one person who can fit this role, as well as a list of responsibilities they should take care of while you’re unavailable.
Make sure that the workplace is prepared
The workplace needs to be equipped for a medical emergency just as much as you and your team. For one, make sure that you have first aid kits that are always fully stocked and kept in marked areas. You should also try to ensure that there’s a good emergency exit that can be used for gurneys so that injured individuals can be moved to the ambulance safely and easily. You might need to invest in additional emergency equipment such as eyewash kits depending on the nature of the workplace.
If your workplace isn’t equipped to handle a health emergency, you can end up being in part responsible for some serious harm. The tips above can prevent that from happening, so take them to heart.
