Did you know 85 per cent of Australian organisations are not ready for the unexpected? The adequacy of occupational health and safety (OHS) in workplaces has been called into question during October’s National Safe Work Month with recent research highlighting some organisations are not first aid ready.
As of last week, an estimated 119 Australian workers have been killed at work this year, and statistics reveal only 13 per cent of organisations are confident they can use their first aid training to act quickly and decisively in a time of need.
St John Ambulance Queensland CEO Alex Hutton said, “Managers need to be aware of their responsibilities when it comes to the safety of their employees, contractors, and other people in the workplace.
“Workplace safety undoubtedly becomes a larger issue as a company grows and it is necessary and essential for managers to assess their operations regularly.
“Many organisations focus on increasing their efficiency but to do that completely they need to look at more than just their bottom-line, they also need to maintain workplace safety, so their staff is ready for the unexpected, risks are minimised, and people have a safe workplace.
“The concerning truth is that while there are efforts to build a safe environment for employees, not many companies are up-to-date on their first aid training skills to handle situations from a paper cut to something as drastic as a heart attack or stroke.”
Hutton added that workplace deaths could be prevented if the right training and first aid skills were readily available during that person’s work activity.
“Every person deserves to go home safely at the end of each day; safety should be the number one efficiency in every workplace, and it will put business leaders at ease knowing their employees are prepared for the worst case scenario. There’s nothing worse than knowing you could have done something to help if you knew what to do.”
St John Ambulance Australia is urging business leaders to participate in the National Safe Work Month this October and ensure their procedures and employees are up-to-date with their first aid skills.
Australian organisations urged to train their staff to be ready for the unexpected by St John Ambulance. Available from <https://safetowork.com.au/australian-organisations-urged-to-train-their-staff-to-be-ready-for-the-unexpected/>. [October 12, 2016]
