First aid on a small crew

Settle before the job starts how someone will get medical care for a serious injury. Then make sure the people and the supplies to start first aid are on the site. When no clinic or hospital is close, someone on the crew needs current first aid training.

Before the job starts

• Decide how an injured worker gets to a doctor or a hospitalKnow the nearest one, and have either a vehicle ready to take them or a phone that can reach an ambulance.
• Post the job's address and location where everyone can see itSome phones and radios don't pass the caller's location to a 911 dispatcher.
• Post the numbers for a doctor, a hospital and an ambulance where 911 isn't available
• Have someone on the crew with current first aid trainingIt matters most on a site far from a clinic or a hospital.
• Set up an eyewash or flushing station where anyone works with corrosive materialsIt belongs within the work area, ready for immediate use.

The kit

• Keep the kit in a weatherproof container
• Keep each type of supply in its own sealed package
• Check the kit before it goes out on each job
• Check it at least weekly on a long job, and replace what's been used
• Keep it where anyone can reach it quicklyKeep it on the site itself, not back at the shop.

Training the crew

• Train first aid providers for the hazards on your jobsInclude how to work with the local emergency services and how to handle blood-contaminated sharps and surfaces.
• Cover CPR, and AED use where an AED is on siteAn AED used within 3 to 4 minutes of sudden cardiac arrest can lead to a 60% survival rate. CPR keeps blood and air moving until the shock is given.
• Practice CPR and AED skills at least every 6 monthsMonths can pass between the training and the day the skills are needed.
• Review the kit and the training when the work changes