Dealing with accidents and emergencies requires instructors to possess a first aid certificate. It is strongly recommended that all instructors obtain a full first aid certificate (First Aid At Work) in order to be able to deal effectively with a range of conditions that may occur in the working environment.
The following are general guidelines on how to deal with certain situations, however if you are not qualified then you should contact the duty first aider and allow them to deal with the incident.
Therefore you should always know who the duty first aiders are.
First Aid Requirements for the Exercise Environment
The First Aid at Work qualification will address the following:
- How to identify the types of injuries and illnesses that may occur in the work place, prior to the arrival of qualified assistance, to include accidents or medical emergencies: fainting, asthma, over exertion, heat exhaustion, sprains and strains, angina, and heart attack.
- How to deal with these before qualified assistance arrives.
- How to decide whether to contact an on-site first aider or immediately call the emergency services.
- Who is the on-site first aider and how to contact them.
- The procedures you should follow to contact the emergency services.
- The procedures you should follow to protect the casualty and others.
- Why is it important to provide comfort and re-assurance and how to do so.
- The responsibilities of the instructor for reporting accidents and following the appropriate procedures.
- Special considerations to be adhered to when dealing with children, older adults and disabled persons including physical contact.
Dealing with Non-medical Emergencies
Different types of emergencies that may occur in the fitness environment include: accidents, fire, suspected bomb, missing person and chemical spillage. The following should always be considered when dealing with any emergency:
- Emergency procedures stated by the workplace
- How to contact the emergency services and who to request
- What instructions you must give to people involved – both staff and external services.
- How to report and incident/accident in an emergency
- The importance of dealing with accidents and emergencies promptly, calmly and correctly.
Reporting Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation (RIDDOR)
Whenever an incident or accident occurs in the the workplace you are duty bound to keep a record of the events.
The record should contain the following components:
- Date, time and place of the incident/accident.
- Name and address of those involved.
- A brief description, giving the cause of the accident/incident if known.
- The action taken in response.
- A statement of fact that the description is unbiased and accurate.
- Signatures of those involved.
- Name, address and signature of a witness to the completion of the document.
Once completed the record should be passed on to management or if necessary reported to the authorities.
RIDDOR stands for Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. It is the revised statutory instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which came into force in October 2013. The regulations require employers, the self-employed and those in control of premises to report specified workplace incidents.
Examples of RIDDOR reportable incidents include work-related fatalities, serious accidents involving a train or tram, collisions between a train and a road vehicle at a level crossing, incidents where structures collapse onto or block a railway, accidents resulting in death or serious injury, dangerous occurrences including acts of physical violence to staff, diseases and medical conditions, accidents causing incapacity of more than seven days (not counting the day on which the accident happened), and incidents involving gases.
A dangerous occurrence is an event that has the potential to cause injury or ill health and meets the required criteria for reporting under RIDDOR. An accident is an unexpected event that happens in the workplace that results in property damage, personal injury, illness, or death.
The list of dangerous occurrences in Schedule 2 of RIDDOR is designed to obtain information primarily about incidents with a high potential to cause death or serious injury, but which happen relatively infrequently. Collecting the information allows the enforcing authorities to learn about the circumstances and their causes. This provides valuable information which both regulators and business can use to help prevent accidents.
According to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), the responsible person must notify the enforcing authority without delay, in accordance with the reporting procedure (Schedule 1). This is most easily done by reporting online. Alternatively, for fatal accidents or accidents resulting in specified injuries to workers only, you can phone 0345 300 9923. A report must be received within 10 days of the incident. For accidents resulting in the over-seven-day incapacitation of a worker, you must notify the enforcing authority within 15 days of the incident.
The consequences of not reporting an incident under RIDDOR can result in a fine of up to £20,000 in the Magistrates’ Court or an unlimited fine in the Crown Court. The seriousness of the incident will determine the consequences, and the courts can impose a custodial prison sentence of up to 2 years for the responsible person, or persons, and an unlimited fine for the business.
