Customizing First Aid Kits: Tailoring Supplies to Your Environment

It is a fact that accidents can and do happen. These accidents can range from minor cuts and grazes to serious and life-threatening medical emergencies. In addition to accidents, ill health can be a serious event in both the home and the workplace, often with little prior indication of the condition taking place. Adults need to keep medical supplies on their property to treat both themselves and any other family members who may need first aid.

In addition, managers and business owners should ensure that their workplace has suitable stocks of medical supplies and equipment to cope with a range of health conditions and accidents in the workplace. In this article, the subject of first aid is discussed. Advice is provided on how to tailor your supplies to the environment, ensuring that the equipment and medical items are suitable for their location and who they will treat.

Bespoke supplies for a typical office-based workplace

In a typical office building, the working environment is quite standardized. There will be designated working areas along with storage rooms and staff areas such as canteens and toilets. In a small office with less than 100 staff, a basic first aid kit should be considered a good starting point in terms of medical supplies. Firms such as Seton provide a range of these kits that will comprise essential items such as plaster, antiseptic creams, gauze, and bandages. However, this kit should only be a starting point for supplies and should be increased depending on the needs of your staff. For instance, it is recognized that 11.6% of the US population have some form of diabetes (including those who have not yet been diagnosed with the condition).

Keeping stocks of glucose (that can be used to reverse hypoglycaemic events) should be considered essential as it is likely that some of your staff may have the condition. In addition, it makes sense to ask your staff to inform you of any specific medical conditions that they have. This can allow the company to stock specific medical supplies in case of medical emergencies. For example, if one of your staff members is susceptible to anaphylaxis, keeping an Epi-pen on-site would be incredibly important in the event of a severe allergic reaction.

Are there location-specific hazards

Another key consideration in the workplace (and at home) is to determine if there are any location-specific hazards. For example, in a factory environment, there may be equipment that produces high levels of heat and has the potential to burn the operator if they have an accident. In such environments, keeping a burns kit is essential.

Ideally, this will include burn dressings that cool the site of injury while ensuring that it is protected from infection. Blunt-ended scissors are also essential equipment for burn victims as they allow clothing to be removed from the site of injury without causing further damage to the tissue. This is just one example of considering location-specific hazards in the environment. Many work environments have a range of potential hazards that could cause illness or injury. Health and Safety staff should assess all on-site risks and ensure that suitable first-aid equipment is stored to deal with them.