Are Brits CPR ready?
In recent news we have seen the media surround health topics especially heart attack related articles. 23-year-old Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba suffered a heart attack during the FA Cup tie against Tottenham on the 17th March at 18:13; despite repetitive CPR, his heart did not start working again until 19:31. The general public need to realise that heart attacks can come on suddenly without the patient having any history of heart complaints. So we must all learn the symptoms and signs to assist people in such emergencies, because the delay in CPR reduces the chances of survival by 10%.
Symptoms May Include:
- Severe chest pain, extending down the left arm.
- Shortness of breath, pale/ashen skin, blue lips
- Sweating and feeling sick, dizzy and weak
- Irregular, weak pulse
If you are in a position where such assistance is needed, the important thing is to start CPR quickly.
The Unconscious Casualty CPR
- Position the casualty on a firm flat surface
- Remove as much clothing as necessary to get to the casualty’s chest area
- Kneel by the side of your casualty
- Place the heel of one hand in the centre of chest (Lower half of breastbone)
- Place the heel of the other on the top of the first hand
- Interlock the fingers of your hands and ensure that pressure is NOT applied over the casualty’s ribs.
- Position yourself vertically above the casualty’s chest and with your arms straight, press down on the breastbone
- Release all the pressure WITHOUT losing contact between the hand and the breastbone, then repeat at a rate of about 100-120 times per minute
CPR artificially pumps the blood round the body buying medics time to work out how to get the heart working. In the case of Fabrice Muamba, he was incredibly lucky to have immediate help, many across the UK are not so lucky. About 100,000 people a year in the UK die after having a sudden cardiac arrest. Many of those will have collapsed in places where help is not to hand.
It is why in recent years a campaign has been under way to place more defibrillators in community settings. But there are still not enough, according to the Arrhythmia Alliance.
But with your help we can reduce these emergencies by taking matters into our own hands. First Aid Training is the most effective method to educate yourself and to protect others from life threatening emergencies. These courses can prepare you and make you become aware of your surroundings, so you or people around you are not in danger.
Check out GK First Aid Training website for more details regarding our courses/venues throughout the UK at competitive prices http://www.gkfirstaidtraining.co.uk/ For more information please email info@gkfirstaidtraining.co.uk or call 0800 043 8148
We also have a Facebook and Twitter page to provide you with updates surrounding the health and safety industry, follow us today and see what difference we can make.
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Health and Safety Audit? These tips will help you keep above the bar
Health and safety audits in the United Kingdom are notoriously strict when it comes to compliance with the 1992 workplace health safety and welfare regulations. Considering that the auditors can fail you on some of the most ridiculous of reasons, I will provide some tips I’ve learned from being the assigned health and safety representative for a large business based in Birmingham.
Assign a representative, and incentivise them!
This should be the first thing you do! Management with previous experience with legislation compliance should be amongst your ideal candidates. Arrange quarterly reports from them to ensure that they are working efficiently. Now you have some accountability in place, you can take a look around for any obvious infractions.
Employee Welfare
Toilets, drinking water, changing rooms and eating areas all fall under the welfare section of the workplace health and safety act. Ensure that drinking water is provided from a clean and regularly refilled container.
Sanitary conveniences and washing facilities should be able to easily service the capacity of your workforce. For example, one cubicle is not enough for a business with 100 or so employees. Are these facilities constantly packed with large queues? This should be taken into consideration in addition to the effectiveness of your cleaning staff, take a UV light to your washroom facilities to check if all precautions are being taken to eliminate the residual of biological waste.
Safety
Even though the probability of electrical failure is miniscule, keeping all of your mains powered electronic devices PAT tested is essential with legislation compliance, especially when these devices are coming in contact with the public. The condition of your property should be monitored to ensure that it has the appropriate stability and solidity for use.
Floors and “traffic routes” should be kept clear and clean by your staff, most accidents tend to occur in high traffic areas, so your health and safety representative should take careful note of these spots. Most of this part is simply common sense, as it doesn’t take a genius to note a dangerous area. Make sure all potentially hazardous materials are marked, and your employees are aware about their placement.
Health
The health part of the legislation is mostly common sense. Are your employees working in an acceptable environment? Is there fresh, clean air being ventilated in your workplace? Is your ventilation solution providing an acceptable, cool environment for your employees to function properly? The legislation states that workplaces should be at least 16 °C; if the work involves physical effort it should be at least 13 °C (Unless other laws require lower temperatures).
Lighting should be sufficient to enable people to work and move around safely. Room dimensions and space should be sufficient for the number of employees working on the property. A lot of these can be worked out by simply looking around and talking to employees about any unsafe or unsavoury conditions.
I hope that this has been a relatively simple way of looking at this legislation, use your common sense and have your health and safety representative study the appropriate materials, they are not lengthy, and can prove to be advantageous in the wellbeing of your employees.
Jennifer is a health and safety consultant providing business with clear strategies to combat workplace accidents and the associated risks. For more information on washroom services Nottingham and other aspects relating to this article such as clinical waste disposal then please visit City Healthcare.
Applying for the CCNSG passport is quite beneficial for any company.
The Client/Contractor National Safety Group passport (CCNSG) is issued to companies or contractors who are operating as oil, gas, nuclear power, chemicals and steel providers. This passport is completed over two days and it is one of the best methods to educate and train on what is required for basic safety. As the national group overseeing safety standards within these sectors, the CCNSG has developed a level of training that ensures that providers taking this course will use a standardised curriculum.
Why is a CCNSG Passport Needed?
The CCNSG is often the major requirement for contractors working on any type of engineering or construction site. Anyone wanting to work on a nuclear power plant site would be required to have studied and been assessed for this safety training certificate. It is provided as a two-day national course and it is valid for at least three years. The CCNSG passport shows that training and education needed for a complex site such as a nuclear power plant is met. This passport shows that the company and contractor are both serious about the safety level of the service they provide.
Increased Levels of Safety
One of the major benefits for possessing the CCNSG passport is the increased level of safety it can provide to those working around a nuclear power station. As it is a national course, all of the basic safety information is covered. The knowledge for this passport is quite detailed and will cover valuable topics such as safety when entering a confined space, safe behaviour on-site, using equipment safely and the correct way to work at heights.
When working at a nuclear power station, useful course information will highlight handling hazardous substances, how to protect the environment, dealing with noise, safe lifting and protection from electrical burns. Therefore, these topics are all useful information and this is course is a complete educational tool for those who would like to not only the knowledge, but also practical tips for maintaining health and safety standards while working on-site at a nuclear power station.
Bio: Amy Griffin, from Griffin Toilet Hire, has recently applied for CCNSG to enable their portable toilets to be installed within Hinkley Point, Bridgewater, UK.
Human Resources: The Cost of Tribunals
In the changing world of the 21st Century, the shape of the workplace is changing to reflect the changing society and its norms and behaviours.
Blame society
British society has increasingly begun to reflect its counterpart US society where blame and automatic questions of compensation and responsibility are banded around. Walk down any UK large High Street and you are likely to meet someone who is trying to get your business in respect of a claim, maybe even going back many years. People are even solicited by the use of SMS on their mobile phones or cold calls to their home phones. The reality is that the UK is become more and more blame conscious and this is reflected in work environments.
In the not too distant past employees were grateful for a job and all that meant for them: financial security, challenge and career fulfilment. Today we see increasing numbers of employees who feel they are owed the opportunity to earn money and crucially feel they have the upper hand in the employer employee relationship. Clearly this is not the case but perceptually it is very much the case to them. Right from the point of recruitment there (quite rightly) an expectation that things will be done correctly, with fairness and equality being paramount as well as finding the correct candidate for the role. Commonly Employment Tribunals will receive complaints from individuals whose perception is that they were not treated with fairness and will have a reason or a number of reasons as to why they were not chosen as the right candidate on the day. Thus having robust tried and tested recruitment procedures in place is a must for any employer of people.
The Welfare of Workers
Managing the working environment is an area frequently neglected, particularly in lower risk sectors. Managing risk is a non negotiable when people are involved. As their knowledge increases surrounding their rights and the organisation’s responsibilities, so the trends in claims against companies unsurprisingly also does the same.
Conducting workplace risk assessments and taking action to reduce the risks identified may feel like a bureaucratic waste of precious time but your responsibility to your workforce is actually one of any organisation’s biggest responsibilities. Larger companies frequently offer medical assessments and support for employees who have a highlighted area of concern. As much as a business has a responsibility to its staff so the staff have a responsibility to their employer. To protect your own business you need to know of any problems with employees that could impact health and safety for themselves, their colleagues or the wider business. Support for employees displaying issues for concern can be provided support by a number of external bodies, for example the Coalition Against Drug Abuse might help an employee sober up and return to work. Bear in mind that any periods of sickness due to accidents or longer term medical ailments will impact on the business’s productivity as business work leaner and meaner and cuts workforces to minimum requirements, absences become harder to manage.
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Grievances against colleagues
Having a grievance procedure is a very important use of time and resource. While an employer can control the company’s decisions around how to treat employees and manage the People Agenda to minimise risk, it is far harder to legislate for the behaviour of individual members of staff, yet their behaviour remains the business’s responsibility. Any workforce will be made up of a number of types of people, with different lifestyles, backgrounds and opinions. It is crucial therefore that a business legislates for colleagues who may conduct themselves inappropriately and set out information around how this behaviour will be dealt with. If an employee has a complaint to make against a colleague, it must be clear as to how this is carried out and there can be no repercussions for any individual raising a complaint. An investigation process must be clearly laid out and appropriate action as required should be taken against any parties found to be guilty of misconduct.
Tribunals and Complaints
Violating employment legislation can be a costly error to make. Where unions are involved to represent the worker it can also spell industrial action and loss of productivity for prolonged periods of time.
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Tribunal costs can run into thousands of pounds in compensation per case depending on the severity of the case. Most types of claim have an associated maximum award and bands of award reflecting the severity of the breach. It is noteworthy that the highest levels of compensation are often awarded for harassment and discrimination cases and these are uncapped. In January 2012 a reported £4.5 million award was made for one such case. The number of claims submitted to UK Employment Tribunals is ever increasing (between March 2010 – March 2011 by around a fifth according to HM Courts and Tribunals Service).
A major defence to liability in any type of claim is showing that your company was not negligent. Training and educating the workforce to take preventative steps is crucial and for any business employing people and wishing to remain viable, training and educating is non negotiable.
Getting your message heard and creating a safer environment by focusing on people
“In the final 20 seconds before an accident, paperwork will not leap out from somewhere and stop an unsafe operation. It’s inanimate and doesn’t have the power. We do”
from OUCH! Behavioural safety between the sheets (of paper). G Millard
As someone promoting Health and Safety in your workplace either as Health and Safety Consultants or as an Operational Manager you probably experience several of the following:
- Frustration that people say Health and Safety is top of the agenda, but do stupid things every day which put their own lives and those of others at risk
- Being seen as a policeman or technical person who doesn’t understand the pressures of operational targets
- A lack of incidents on site leading to a false sense of security and people taking their eye off the H&S ball
- H&S targets constantly increasing and more and more pressure to reduce the costs of incidents in a tough market
- Wishing that people would just get a grip and realise how important this really is
Wouldn’t it be great if safety was a natural response for everyone in your organisation and happened throughout their lives, not just at work? And if short term priorities didn’t override the importance of doing the right and safe thing in any situation?
So how can you achieve a situation where safe working hours are steadily increasing and this only focuses people on safety even more?
Many H&S professionals have moved into this role from an operational or technical role. This means that most have had haphazard training at best in skills such as influencing, leadership and change management. Which can mean they are tempted to do one of two things:
Ignore all the people stuff and leave it to others – after all you are in this role
because their technical skills are required by many people across the organisation- Focus on the people aspect almost exclusively – because if you don’t help people understand and buy into the programme then it won’t work anyway!
- Focus on the people aspect almost exclusively – because if you don’t help people understand and buy into the programme then it won’t work anyway!
In this article we’re looking at how to influence people so that safety becomes intrinsic to everything that they do.
People don’t simply do what they are told, they do what they do because of the consequences that result for them when they’ve done it. i.e. If there are problems with safety, it’s because those behaviours are being reinforced – intentionally or otherwise.
The picture to the Left is based on the NLP principles and shows the different levels where you can chose to interact with people. The bottom 3 rungs of the ladder are related to the things they do every day, where they work, the job that they do and the skills that they use to do it well.
The top 3 rungs are the reasons they do what they do and this is where we need to focus to influence people. Taking an example of someone who rushes that last task of the day, so that they can get home to see their son in the school play – generally they don’t do things in a slap dash way because they don’t know how to do it – they do it because of the consequences for them in their life of being late home. And the consequences of being late home are much more immediate for them than the consequences of an accident, which they think is unlikely to happen. So their mind is influenced by their values and beliefs, not their knowledge and skills.
Most H&S programmes are designed to change how people behave in certain situations where there is an element of risk. But research shows that It takes about 18 months of changes behaviour to influence our beliefs and values. Influencing beliefs and values has a much quicker impact on behaviour.
So how can you do this:
Ask people to tell you what the consequences of taking a specific risk might be – by asking them you are forcing them to think through what might happen and visualise a real situation with them in it.
Find out why they are doing it the way they are at the moment - exploring what drives them to do things the “wrong” way can help you to find the key to unlock their resistance to doing it the safe way.
Build relationships with people and find out what pressures they have in their lives, so that you can tailor a solution to that works for them
Ask them how to make it safer - often people have ideas and suggestions for what can be done, but they either don’t think to tell you or they’ve “stuck their head above the parapet too many times before and are worried they’ll get shot”
Back up these conversations with logical, factual information which gives them the data to back up your discussions.
By engaging with people as human beings and spending time to listen rather than talk “at” them, you will see a change in their attitudes to both Health and Safety and you as the expert in this area.
Our guest blogger today is Louise Ebrey. Louise facilitates effective change and supports Internal Consultants, Specialists and Advisors to reach their potential and achieve even better results for their organisations. She is a facilitator, coach, and implementer of Business Improvement solutions which align process improvement with business strategy. Her approach combines her extensive experience in Business Improvement and Lean, with NLP, strategic change and people development.
Originally an Engineer, Louise has been facilitating effective ways of working for the last 10 years. She focuses on the strategy and culture required to ensure success.
She recently co-founded the Great Insiders tribe where Internal Consultants, specialists and advisors (such as H&S professionals) can meet, share experience, learn from each other and hear from expert speakers. www.greatinsiders.com/great-insiders
You can contact Louise at louise.ebrey@bridgewaterlatitude.com
Staying safe in the workplace: how manned guarding can benefit your business
Health and safety these days is about so much more than just what goes on inside the workplace. Whether you’re handling sensitive documents, using expensive technology or want to protect your staff, now is the time to consider manned guarding.
Manned guarding benefits
Think that this is only relevant for those in need of security guards London way or in big cities? Well, sorry to say this, but you are wrong. Workplaces all over the UK are being targeted by criminal activity on a daily basis, meaning manned guarding has become all but a necessity to those looking to protect their companies.
Manned guarding on site means that you have someone monitoring and handling any problems or criminal activity every single day. It is well known that manned guarding in a retail workplace, for example, helps to prevent a huge amount of petty theft – as well as making staff and management feel more secure.
In most workplaces, the greatest benefit manned guarding can offer is providing this sense of security. The knowledge that a trained professional is available to call on for help in difficult situations will make customers and employees feel safer and happier in the business environment.
What manned guarding do I need?
Manned guarding is polarised into two types: the basic security guard who provides a presence on site 9-5 with the minimum training required by law and the highly trained guard, on site 24 hours a day, skilled at dealing with any situation that may arise. What you need for your workplace depends on the nature of your business. In this case it is advisable to consult with a professional security firm on what manned guarding they can provide you with.
What power do they have?
If you decide to embark on a manned guarding program in the workplace, you must remember one thing: security guards are not police. They do not have any more legal powers that the general public. In a retail environment, security guards are allowed to detain shoplifters and use a ‘reasonable’ amount of force if there are ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe they have stolen something.
Anyone in the UK providing a manned guarding service or working as a security guard must be fully licensed and vetted by the Security Industry Authority. The SIA acts as a licensing body which oversees training standards and manages an Approved Contractor scheme. It is a criminal offence to work as a security guard without a SIA licence.
Guest Blog provided by Ruth Dawson
Make your Building Site Safer with Specialist Insurance
Summary
If you work on different sites, with different equipment and contractors, it’s important that your insurance policy is kept up to date.
Make your Building Site Safer with Specialist Insurance
Everyone knows that building sites can be dangerous places. With the right safety precautions in place they can be made as safe as possible, but accidents can still happen. The nature of the construction industry means there’s a certain amount of risk with every job: heavy machinery driving around warehouses; cranes lifting awkward and heavy loads; and people working with dangerous equipment, mean that accidents are more likely to occur here than in other areas of the workplace. This means that warehouse insurance should be at the top of every construction firm’s list of priorities.
If insurance is one of your job responsibilities then it’s something you should pay very close attention to. If you think about it, the health and safety of the workers and any visitors that come onto the site are not just down to site security but also a result of the quality of your insurance. If there’s an unforeseen accident, the insurance company will have to deal with the claims and payouts so if the insurance isn’t there in the first place, the onus will be on you and your company.
If it’s time to get a new quote for your construction insurance, make sure you shop around and don’t just buy the first policy that appears to tick all the boxes. Look carefully at what’s included in the policy and think about using a company that specialises in your area of cover. For example, you’ll need full liability cover for your industry and you should also look out for comprehensive cover for your own equipment, as well as any hire-in equipment that might be used on site. Plus, think about the various contractors you use in the course of any one construction project. It’s important that you have insurance cover in place for them, as well. A specialist firm should be able to provide all these elements as part of your policy, so make sure you check this out before you commit your money.
It might also help to have flexible payment terms or different payment options to suit your business. For example, you might want to pay your premium in one installment, or you might prefer monthly payments, to spread out the amount during the financial year. Again, specialist providers will be well aware of the particular nature of the construction industry and are therefore more likely to offer more flexible payments options, to work with the specific needs of your business.
If you haven’t looked into your current insurance cover for a while then take some time out to check. It’s such an important part of the business that it shouldn’t be overlooked for any reason – in fact, it should be a priority. It will only take a few minutes of your time to ensure all your details and those of your business are up-to-date, and that your cover reflects the current nature of the work you do, the premises you operate from, and the staff you employ. It will be time very well spent.
