How important do you think Workplace Health & Safety (WHS) is in the Australian workplace? Well, as any business owner will know, it’s vital, both from a human and business perspective. When you consider that there are, on average, around 120,000 worker compensation claims each year in Australia, the wisdom of focusing on it becomes clear. In this blog, we look at a specific part of WHS as we examine the importance of first aid course training.
What Is The Meaning Of Health And Safety At Work?
As an online course in Workplace Health & Safety will show you, WHS concerns the regulations and procedures that exist to prevent injury and sickness. It’s a framework that’s designed to keep employees safe, as well as anyone else who might visit the premises. Business owners who fail to adhere to the strict laws set down by Australia’s Safety Act risk fines and even imprisonment!
Why Is First Aid Training Important?
Aside from the compliance part of the equation, the first aid element of WHS is something that needs to be focused on for the good of everyone who works at your place of business. There are a variety of reasons why regular first aid course training is a good idea. While having a primary first-aider in the workplace isn’t mandatory, the very least that must be known to all is where the first aid kit is.
Typically speaking, first aid training will cover aspects like:
- Where the defibrillators are stored (if you have any)
- How to stop minor and profuse bleeding
- Manual resuscitation, a.k.a CPR
- How to treat scalds & burns
- Preventing choking
Look around the workplace, and a trained observer will be able to spot countless hazards, so the potential for minor injury is higher than you might expect. Just because your premises doesn’t use heavy machinery, doesn’t mean it’s unnecessary, as threats exist in every workplace.
A First Aid Kit On Its Own Is Not Enough
The only mandatory element relating to first aid kits in the workplace is that you must have one to abide by the laws. However, if no one in your organisation has taken a first aid course, the supplies inside the kit may get used wrongly. Additionally, resuscitation is something that saves around 25,000 people a year in Australia - which can’t happen if no one knows what to do when someone falls unconscious.
Further to that, if someone starts to choke - which is quite common - that person’s life is very much at risk if no one knows the Heimlich manoeuvre. We want to over-dramatise the situation, but this kind of knowledge leads to saved lives - reason enough to consider offering training.
The truth is, often, you don’t know how important first aid training is until something happens. Hindsight, however, is not going to count for much when an employee gets hurt.
First Aid Training Saves Your Business Money
One of the most compelling reasons business owners should offer first aid training is that it has a tangible financial benefit. When employees are more informed and understand what to watch out for, the number of workplace injuries naturally decreases. Before you even consider compensation claims, you’ll lose productivity and man hours.
While there’s an initial cost to providing this training in person or via online learning, you’ll recoup that cost in the long run by keeping your staff fit and healthy. Not only that, but your staff will get to feel safer and valued by your organisation. Introducing regular training really is a win-win-win situation.
Short Courses Online - The Cost-Effective Way To Learn
The great news for any business owner wanting to provide first aid training to their employees is that at OCA, we offer affordable, CPD-Endorsed online learning that can be taken via smartphone or tablet at the learner’s convenience. Also, providing an engaging and thought-provoking learning experience means that the knowledge provided will tend to stick rather than make their eyes glaze over due to boredom.
OCA students are very well looked after in terms of support, too, as every course comes with 1-to-1 mentoring and 24/7 tutorial assistance. We regularly get student feedback telling us that we supply the best online courses Australia has to offer, and it’s something we’ve worked hard to achieve. Every course is industry-led, meaning that you know every bit of information learnt is 100% relevant.
If you’d like to get a better idea of what it’s like to study with us, watch our Student Study Demo that lays everything out clearly. Alternatively, to see our full course library (that covers over 20 industries), visit us today at www.onlinecoursesaustralia.edu.au. There you’ll also see our flexible payment options.
However, if you need to speak to us before enrolling, we’re more than happy to answer any questions you might have. To get in touch with us, you can either call 1300 611 404 or drop us a line at [email protected], and we’ll do our utmost to help you in any way we can.
