Advice on ... First aid

Q: What health and safety regulations apply to youth clubs and how many trained first aiders and fire marshals do they need?

Youth clubs must abide by the current Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, which requires workplaces to have adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and staff to enable first aid to be given at work.

All workplaces must abide by these regulations. Additionally, youth clubs should check the rules of any regulating bodies related to their organisation.

Fire regulations require employers to carry out a fire safety risk assessment, put in place appropriate measures to prevent fires and provide enough competent people to evacuate the building in the event of an emergency. Depending on the size and the number of people in the youth club, members of staff trained as fire marshals need to be present in the building at all times. The larger the workplace the higher the number of fire marshals required.

The same applies to trained first aiders. A risk assessment will determine how many first aiders the club needs.

Q: What type of training should youth workers undertake?

St John Ambulance's First Aid at Work course covers the practical skills needed by a first aider in the modern workplace.

The four-day course aims to give staff the confidence and knowledge to deal with first aid emergencies, including resuscitation and training in using a first aid kit. If you work with young children up to the age of eight, St John Ambulance offers a two-day Early Years First Aid course that includes childhood conditions such as meningitis, measles and croup. The Risk Assessment course is designed to give staff the skills to assess risks within their workplace and to give them a British Safety Council Level 2 certificate in risk assessment.

Q: What first aid equipment do clubs need?

A youth club, as a place of work, must stock a standard workplace kit. This will include basics such as plasters, dressings and cleansing wipes. As children and young people are more prone to cuts and scrapes than adults, staff should also assess whether they need to stock extra supplies of plasters, some of which ought to be hypoallergenic.

When venturing outside on trips and excursions, a risk assessment of the activities involved must be carried out to evaluate any potential dangers. For example, in the case of a hike, thermal blankets are a valuable addition to first aid kits in case a child or young person suffers a fracture and is unable to be moved until help has arrived. First aid kits are available from St John Ambulance Supplies and other specialist stockists. These kits comply with health and safety standards.

Q: What should a youth worker do in the case of fractures and sprains?

Fractures require hospital treatment, but in the interim the casualty should be made to keep still and the break supported with your hands or bandages (in a sling if it is an upper limb break, or bandaged to the uninjured leg if it is a lower limb break).

Sprains can be treated using rest, ice, compression and elevation (the Rice procedure). The injured part should be rested and supported and, if available, an ice pack should be applied to reduce swelling, making sure the ice does not come into direct contact with the skin. It should then be compressed with bandages and raised to support the limb.

Q: What should be done for nosebleeds?

The casualty should be made to sit quietly, pinch the soft part of the nose and tilt his or her head forward while breathing through the mouth.

After about 10 minutes, they can let go of their nose to see if the bleeding has stopped. If not, resume the pinching of the nose up to a maximum of three times (30 minutes in total). If it is still bleeding, or if the bleeding is severe, seek medical advice. Once the bleeding has stopped, the casualty should rest quietly, avoid too much movement or exertion and not touch their nose.

In the case of bleeding from a head injury, if the blood appears thin and watery the casualty should be taken to hospital, because it could indicate a skull fracture leaking fluid from the brain.

Clive James is a training manager for St John Ambulance

MORE INFO

For information about St John Ambulance first aid courses, call 08700 10 49 50 or visit www.sja.org.uk

- Health and Safety Executive www.hse.gov.uk