The purpose of this web page is to explain the basics of what to do if an accident or emergency happens. It will not tell you everything you will need to know to perform first aid.
Unless you are a trained in first aid, you will need to:
- give what help you can
- call for help from a someone trained in first aid or from the emergency services.
The table below gives you the basics of first aid. In all the situations in the table below you may find that the person goes into shock (they may feel dizzy, faint, sick). To prevent this happening, lay them down, if possible, before starting first aid.
If both you and the person who needs first aid, are in a dangerous place such as:
• a room or building that is on fire
• a room or building that is collapsing
• an area where there is a poisonous or inflammable gas
You will need to get them to a safer place as quickly as possible before treating them. If you are not able to move the injured person from the dangerous place, you must leave or you will become injured yourself.
Isolating the accident area
In nearly all cases of an accident or emergency you will need to:
• keep people away from the place so that they are not put in danger
• keep people away from the place so that injured people can be treated
• keep things the way they were so that investigators can see what happened
If an accident happens and no other people are in danger then isolating the area is fairly easy. You should:
• ask a responsible person to get others out of the area and wait in another room, for example a library or canteen
• get one person to wait with you in case you need extra help
• get the responsible person to come back and wait outside the area
to keep unauthorised people away
Once the injured person has been treated and moved out of the area, you must ensure that the accident scene remains isolated.
If the accident was in a room:
• lock the door
• fix a notice to the door which says “No entry” and give the name
and phone number of the person to contact
If the accident was in an open area which can’t be locked:
• use brightly coloured notices and tape to form barriers at places where people could get into the area
• until the investigation has started, use people to stop others getting into the area especially when there are lots of people around during the day
If an accident happens and other people are in danger then:
• move everybody out of the area and to the pre-determined
assembly points, using the evacuation procedure
• get responsible people to wait at a safe distance outside the area to keep unauthorised people away and direct the emergency services
• if possible, use brightly coloured notices and tape to form barriers at places where people could get into the area
• until the investigation has started, use people to stop others getting into the area especially when there are lots of people around during the day
If you have called the emergency services, they may isolate the area when they have made it safe.
Your job is to keep yourself, customers and your colleagues safe until help arrives.
The professional help may be from:
• the fire service
• the ambulance service
• the police
• doctors
• nurses.
When professional help arrives your job is to give them as much information about the accident or emergency as possible. Follow the instructions they give you.