| Hello, everyone. Now, you know why I'm here. |
| You all work in a factory, and in this environment, |
| there always remains a significant possibility of accidents happening, |
| in which case, first aid will be necessary. |
| What is first aid? |
| It is the provision of emergency on-site care when an injury occurs, |
| and it is essential for everyone to know, if only simply, the steps which must be followed. |
| There are, of course, minor injuries which may happen, |
| not needing further medical care beyond the intervention of the first-aider, |
| but you can never be sure, thus the following steps must always be followed. |
| These can be abbreviated to the words "Dr ABC", |
| in other words. D-R-A-B-C. |
| The 'D' stands for "danger", and that's the first issue to keep in mind. |
| When an accident happens, immediately ascertain that the environment is safe - |
| that, for example, nothing else will fall or break or cause accidents. |
| If you, the first-aider, are also injured, the problem is even worse. |
| The 'R' stands for 'respond'. |
| You must then ascertain the best response. |
| Once all the danger has been eliminated, and the distress calls sent out, |
| the appropriate action is, obviously, to help the injured party. |
| Alright, that leads to 'A', which stands for "airway". |
| In order to stay alive, all people need to have an open airway to allow breathing. |
| A conscious person will automatically clear their own airway, |
| but if unconscious, this may not happen. |
| The brain is stopped or hindered from properly directing the body |
| and, obviously, in the worst case, death can result, |
| for this reason, the injured person is normally put into the 'recovery' position - |
| placed on the side, tilting the head back, and ensuring that there are no blockages in the mouth. |
| To free any such blockages, the back can be slapped, |
| or the chest compressed, allowing anything to be spat out. |
| Now that the airway is free, check for 'B' or 'breathing'. |
| If breathing is not happening, or is irregular, |
| the first-aider may have to assist with what is technically known as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, |
| or more commonly, CPR. |
| This involves breathing for the patient, through mouth-to-mouth contact, |
| while periodically massaging the heart through compressions to the chest. |
| This combination allows blood, and oxygen, to flow around the body, keeping the patient alive, |
| hopefully until medics, such as doctors, advanced first-aiders, or ambulance staff, arrive. |
| Now, it's certainly good to have knowledge of emergency first aid |
| but. obviously, the best situation is simply not to have accidents occur in the first place, |
| for that, you need to be aware of safety issues, |
| but just saying "be aware" does not usually achieve much. |
| It is more important to have an appointed person whose job is to ensure awareness and work-safety. |
| Safety inspections would obviously be part of their job, |
| whereby they can make sure, for example, that the first-aid boxes are fully equipped. |
| Another idea is to put posters on the walls, |
| but, interestingly, research has proven that these tend to be ignored, |
| becoming just part of the wallpaper - seen, but not put into practice. |
| It is much better if everyone is just instilled to not be reckless, |
| that is, to not rush into situations without thinking about the possibility of accidents, |
| and instilling this mindset is part of the job of the safety officer. |
| Some other suggestions are ongoing first-aid training, |
| and "no accident" reward or star systems. |
| These have had some success, but nothing beats a regular meeting, say, once a month, |
| in which the subject of safety is brought to the attention of everyone, |
| and any outstanding issues related to this are thoroughly discussed. |