First Aid

Organisational Unit makes their own arrangements for the provision of first aid training. It is recommended that staff are trained to HLTAID003 Provide First Aid at a minimum.

A higher level or additional training may be required to ensure your First Aid Officers have appropriate skills for the risks you have identified in your workplace. For example, additional training may be required where:

• work is remote or isolated
• there are risks from dangerous substances such as Hydrofluoric Acid or cyanide
• specialist first aid equipment or first aid room is installed in the workplace
• children are present in the workplace
• you have identified psychological risks, or
• workers have existing medical conditions which may require first aid.

Where workers or others at the workplace have known existing medical conditions, First Aid Officers should be trained to respond to these conditions if the topic has not been covered in previous first aid training.

Two well-known First Aid Providers include:

• Australian Red Cross at Red Cross training
• St John Ambulance at St John.

Duties of a Designated First Aid Officer

The duties of Designated First Aid Officers include:

• Administering first aid on campus when a situation arises where first aid is necessary.
• Ensuring that the workplace has been provided with adequate first aid resources and to ensure that first aid can be provided for the hazards that are apparent within that workplace.
• Maintaining first aid equipment in a satisfactory and usable condition.

The tasks of a Designated First Aid Officer include:

• Keeping records of first aid administered using the First Aid Register (DOCX 735.8 KB).
• Ensuring a MySAFETY report has been lodged regarding the incident.
• Maintaining First Aid Kits and reviewing them using the First Aid Kit Checklist (DOCX 383.7 KB) annually.
• Keeping First Aid and Emergency Signage (DOCX 159.8 KB) up to date.
• Assisting with a workplace First Aid Risk Assessment (DOCX 384.3 KB)
• Completing an annual Designated Frist Aid  Checklist annually via MySAFETY online Checklists and Inspections

Appoint a new Designated First Aid Officer

To appoint a new Designated First Aid Officer, complete this form and send to the People and Wellbeing Team through ServiceNow:

• Designated First Aid Officer (DOC 416.5 KB)

A Designated First Aid Officer is entitled to receive training at no charge to them during normal working hours.  The cost of training is an Organisational Unit expense.

Employees who are appointed as Designated First Aid Officers in accordance with University policy shall be paid an allowance as outlined in the Staff Agreement.

There may be other staff trained and current in First Aid who support the designated first aid Officer in administering first aid.  It is up to the Organisational Unit to decide if they get paid the allowance.

Current list of Designated First Aid Officers as at 1 September 2021

First Aid Kits

The contents of a First Aid Kit is outlined in Appendix E (PDF 107.1 KB) – Example of contents for first aid kits in the First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice.

The Designation First Aid Officer is responsible for ensuring the workplace First Aid Kits are regularly checked and contents restocked.

The First Aid Kit Checklist below should be completed at the beginning of the new year as part of the Organisational Unit Emergency Preparedness Review:

• First Aid Kit Checklist (DOCX 383.7 KB)

Signage

Here is a useful signage template to advertise Emergency Building Contacts (including Designated First Aid Officers):

• Building Emergency Contacts Signage Template (DOCX 159.8 KB)

First Aid Record Keeping

All First Aid Officer should keep a record of first aid that they have provided using this register which can be kept with the First Aid Kit.  First aid treatment records are subject to requirements under Health Records legislation. Further information is available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

• First Aid Register (DOCX 735.8 KB)

If First Aid is provided to someone, this incident must be recorded in the MySAFETY and assigned to the injured person’s Manager or Supervisor, particularly in the event the injury becomes more serious.

First Aid App

As a First Aid Officer, you never know when and where you will be called upon to first aid.

Consider downloading this free APP from the Australian Red Cross website, handy to refresh your memory between training and when called upon to provide first aid.

Further information here: Australian Red Cross First Aid app

The location of Automated External Defibrillators (AED) is shown on campus maps for the North and South via the following links;

• Cradle Campus AED Map (PDF 739.5 KB)
• Newnham AED Map (PDF 1 MB)
• Sandy Bay AED Map (PDF 752 KB)
• Hobart City Campuses AED Map (PDF 1.8 MB)
• Worker Information Sheet on Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) (DOTX 737.9 KB)

How to use an AED:

Information about how AED operate is included in First Aid training. The Laerdal website also provides a short video demonstration.

The Safety and Wellbeing Unit have a loan DVD and training AED unit available. Please contact the Safety and Wellbeing Unit if you would like to borrow it for your workgroup.

Hire a portable AED

An AED is available for hire from Campus Services. The AED can be hired for one week at a cost of $30 and up to a maximum of 3 weeks for $50.  For more information and to hire the AED please download and complete the Equipment Loan Agreement (PDF 160.9 KB) and forward to Campus Services, Private Bag 35, Hobart, Tasmania 7001.

Infection Control

The main hazard of COVID-19 is the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The First Aid COVID Guideline (PDF 155.5 KB) provides advice for extra precaution while administering First Aid.

When providing first aid to an injured or ill person, first aiders could encounter blood or body substances. These can transfer infections to the first aider or other people they treat.

Standard precautions are work practices 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:

• good hand hygiene with soap and water
• use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
• handling and disposal of sharps and waste
• cleaning techniques
• managing spills of blood and body substances

First Aid Officers should wash their hands with soap and water or apply alcohol-based hand rub before and after administering first aid. They should also wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including disposable gloves, to prevent contact with blood and body substances.

First Aid Officers 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 encounters blood or body substances should be washed with soap and water immediately. Prompt medical advice should be obtained, and an incident report lodged in MySAFETY.

Where there is a risk of disease, First Aid Officers should be offered vaccinations in line with the Department of Health Australian Immunisation Handbook.

Contaminated Items

Items soiled with blood or body substances should be placed in plastic bags and tied securely. Waste disposal must comply with state or local government requirements. Follow the Safe Disposal of Sharps Factsheet (PDF 108.8 KB) for sharps including needles, syringes and disposable probes.

If a First Aid Officer sustains a sharps injury or thinks they are at risk of infection from blood or body substances, they should seek prompt medical advice and lodge an incident report in MySAFETY.

Cleaning Spills

Cleaning should start as soon as possible after an incident involving blood or body substances.

Campus Services should be contacted to arrange specialised cleaning service to clean the area affected.

Cleaners should wear disposable gloves when cleaning spills and if splashes of blood or body substances may occur, extra protective equipment like eye protection, plastic aprons and masks should be worn.

Surfaces contaminated with blood or body substances should be wiped with paper towelling and cleaned with warm soapy water.

It is generally unnecessary to use sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) for managing spills but it may be used in specific circumstances, for example if the surface is hard to clean.