What are my responsibilities as a first aid officer?

First aid officers are an important role in an organisation in order to provide immediate care to an injured or ill person until they have either recovered or medical attention is provided.

Responsibilities

Standard hygiene precautions and situational awareness are always required in any first aid situation.

Take reasonable care of your own and others health and safety in performing your normal work and your role as a first aid officer. This means not placing yourself in danger of harm and/or illness in the course of providing first aid.
Provide care only to the level of your training and expertise.
Organise more advanced medical care for the injured/ill person where required.

What duties am I expected to undertake?

Assessing what has happened to cause an injury or illness
Identifying hazards and risks in the area
Controlling cross-contamination of infections
Calmly reassuring the casualty
Assess the patient and identify possible first aid solutions
Apply first aid (to the limit of your training and experience)
Call for appropriate assistance

What personal qualities should I have as a first aid officer?

Access and manage the provision of first aid in a calm manner
Have a good understanding of your role as first responder if an incident occurs
Know that your normal duties may need to be put on hold while you administer first aid
Be physically able to perform first aid techniques including CPR
Be aware of both your own and others well-being (not putting yourself or others at risk)

Standard hygiene precautions

You must protect your own health and well-being when providing first aid to others. Standard precautions help you avoid becoming ill and exposing others to illness when handling blood or body substances. Standard precautions are to be used on every patient to ensure a basic level of infection prevention and control.

Standard precautions include:

Hand washing before and after providing first aid
Using disposable gloves and other personal protective equipment
Employing the correct method of disposal of contaminated items and sharps
Ensuring spills of blood and body substances are cleaned in a hygienic and safe manner
Note that in Queensland, the Code of Practice for First Aid is now enforceable and must be complied with.

Need a first aid risk assessment? Contact us today on 0401 014 619 or [email protected] to arrange.