www.thesafetymag.com/ca 19
"To me, the essential part of first aid
training is that it needs to be focused
on the learner and on knowledge
reality."
Don Marentette, Red Cross Canada.
• Over 38,500 Products
ALWAYS IN STOCK
• Order by 6 PM for
SAME DAY SHIPPING
• 12 North American Locations Mean
SHIPPING SAVINGS and FAST DELIVERY
OUR ADVANTAGE
π
SHIPPING SUPPLY SPECIALISTS
ORDER BY 6 PM FOR SAME DAY SHIPPING
1-800-295-5510
uline.ca
emergency plan — when it comes to
first aid, this means having a proper first
aid kit, and in the context of COVID-19,
wearing the right PPE.
The next part of the plan is to
consider how many first aiders will be
attending the scene, who is meeting the
ambulance — and which route the
paramedic unit should take. This should
all be part of the emergency response
plan, says Schmied, to not waste
valuable time.
Once someone has been certified, it
also raises the question of how often a
person needs to re-certify. Again, this
depends on each province. Furthermore,
it also depends on how long a worker is
in that province.
Organizations also need to keep in
mind how many people need to be
certified.
One of the big problems his
organization runs into, says Schmied, is
that organizations will go to the
minimums (for example, only certifying
one person in a shift of 200 people),
which is a huge problem if, say, that
person is then off sick, traveling, etc.
So, Schmied always recommends
having a number of backups — a good
rule of thumb is to have around five per
cent of the staff certified.
The other thing to keep in mind is
the size of the workplace.
In a 300,000 square foot warehouse
for example, what happens if all trained
first aiders are at one end of the
workplace and the incident happens at
the other end? In emergency situations,
time is of the essence.
"There's the minimum and then
there's what makes sense for your
organization," says Schmied. "You're
better off having twice as many people
trained as you think you need. And
then should [an emergency] ever
happen, you'll probably have a better
chance of saving a life."
First aid training also means
empowering employees to act in an
emergency. Being aware of hazards and
having a least some knowledge of how
to handle risks is a must for employees.
"Having the confidence to recognize
when something isn't safe — and acting
on it — is a win," says Marentette.
