PADI RTO First Aid Student Manual

Standard precautions for infection control First aiders should take standard precautions to avoid becoming ill and exposing others to illness when handling blood or body substances. Standard precautions are work practices that are applied to all patients and their blood and body substances, regardless of their infectious status, to ensure a basic level of infection prevention and control. Standard precautions include hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, appropriate handling and disposal of sharps and waste, cleaning techniques and managing spills of blood and body substances. Providing first aid safely Before providing first aid to an injured or ill person, first aiders should assume they could be exposed to infection. First aiders should wash their hands with soap and water or apply alcohol-based hand rub before and after administering first aid. First aiders should also wear personal protective equipment to prevent contact with blood and body substances, including disposable gloves. Eye protection, a mask and protective clothing may also be necessary if splashes of blood or body substances are likely to occur. You should establish procedures to avoid workers becoming ill and exposing others to illness when handling blood or body substances. Procedures could include: • Proper hand hygiene practices; • How to handle and dispose of sharps; • How to clean surfaces and reusable equipment; • How to manage spills and handle and clean soiled laundry; • How to handle and dispose of waste; • When to use personal protective equipment, for example, using resuscitation masks for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. First aiders should be aware of what to do if they have accidental contact with blood or body substances, a sharps injury or contact with a person known to have a contagious illness. Any part of the body that comes in contact with blood or body substances should be washed with soap and water immediately. Prompt medical advice should be obtained. All first aiders should be offered hepatitis B virus vaccination. Ensure ocumentation is completed as required according to legislation and workplace procedures A system should be developed and implemented for reporting and recording occupational injuries, diseases and illnesses and other relevant safety and health information. The system should be readily available and accessible to employees. Australian Standard AS 1885.1 Measurement of occupational health and safety performance - Describing and reporting occupational injuries and disease (known as the National Standard for workplace injury and disease recording) may be useful as a guide in setting up such a system. Recording information on injury and disease at the workplace is an important component in developing preventative strategies. The Occupational Safety and Health Regulations for example, require certain injuries and diseases to be reported to the WorkSafe Western Australia Commissioner. Confidentiality of information Any information recorded about the health of a person or treatment given to a person should be treated as confidential and stored in a secure place.

Employee awareness An employer has a duty to provide information, instruction, training to and supervision of employees to enable them to work without exposure to hazards. Information and instruction about first aid facilities and services for employees should include: • The location of all first aid boxes, equipment and first aid rooms (if any); • The names, work locations and contact numbers of first aiders; • Procedures to be followed when first aid is required and for contacting external assistance when first aid is not available or further assistance is required (i.e. who calls the ambulance and procedures for evacuating an injured person); • Standard precautions for the control of infection including blood-borne infections. • This information should be kept up to date and provided: • When an employee is first employed at the workplace (i.e. at induction); • If there is a change in the location of the first aid facilities or services; • If there are any changes in the names, locations or contact numbers of trained first aiders; and • Thereafter, at regular intervals. Information and practical guidance on standard precautions for the control of infection is provided for example, in the WorkSafe Western Australia Commission Code of Practice – Management of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis at Workplaces. Providing information in an appropriate form Information should be provided in a form that all employees can understand. Consideration should be given to the way information on first aid facilities and services may be provided for people with non-English speaking backgrounds and people with disabilities. This could include using: • Audio and visual aids; • Graphics (e.g. posters); • Interpreters; • Simple English phrases; • Same language people to provide information; and • Interactive practical demonstrations. Regular checks are necessary to ensure the information provided is understood by everyone at the workplace.

HLTAID008 MANAGE FIRST AID SERVICES AND RESOURCES

HLTAID008 MANAGE FIRST AID SERVICES AND RESOURCES

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PADI RTO

PADI RTO

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