The First Aid procedure at St Peter’s is in operation to ensure that every student, member of staff and visitors will be well looked after in the event of an accident, no matter how minor or major.
It is emphasised that the team consists of qualified First Aiders and not trained doctors or nurses.
In the event of an accident all members of the school community should be aware of the support available and the procedures available to activate this.
· To provide effective, safe First Aid cover for students, staff and visitors.
· To ensure that all staff and students are aware of the system in place.
· To provide awareness of Health & Safety issues within school and on school trips, to prevent, where possible, potential dangers or accidents.
NB The term FIRST AIDER refers to those members of the school community who are in possession of a valid First Aid at work certificate or equivalent.
· Ensure that their qualification and insurance [provided by the school] are always up to date.
· Ensure that first aid cover is available throughout the working hours of the school week.
· Always attend a casualty when requested to do so and treat the casualty to the best of their ability in the safest way possible. This includes wearing gloves where any loss of blood or body fluid is evident, calling for help from other First Aiders or Emergency Services.
· Help fellow First Aiders at an incident and provide support during the aftermath.
· Act as a person who can be relied upon to help when the need arises.
· Ensure that their portable first aid kits are adequately stocked and always to hand.
· Insist that any casualty who has sustained a significant head injury is seen by professionals at the hospital, either by sending them directly to hospital or by asking parents to pick up a child to take them to hospital; ensure that parents are aware of all head injuries promptly.
· Ensure that a child who is sent to hospital by ambulance is either:
· Accompanied in the ambulance at the request of paramedics.
· Followed to a hospital by a member of staff to act in loco parentis if a relative cannot be contacted.
· Met at hospital by a relative.
· The First Aider need not be the member of staff to accompany the casualty to hospital, however, an appropriate person should be sent.
· Liaison must occur with the teacher in charge of cover, to ensure that lessons are covered in the event of an absent teacher.
· Keep a record of each student attended to, the nature of the injury and any treatment given, in the book provided in the First Aid Room. In the case of an accident, the Accident Book must be completed by the appropriate person.
· Ensure that everything is cleared away, using gloves, and every dressing etc. be put in a yellow bag for contaminated/used items and sealed tightly before disposing of the bag in a bin. Any bloodstains on the ground must be washed away thoroughly. No contaminated or used items should be left lying around.
THE GOVERNING BODY will:
· provide adequate First Aid cover as outlined in the Health & Safety [First Aid] Regulations 1981.
· Monitor and respond to all matters relating to the health and safety of all persons on school premises.
· Ensure all new staff are made aware of First Aid procedures in school.
HEADS AND ASSISTANT HEADS OF SCHOOL will:
· Ensure that they always obtain the history relating to a student not feeling well, particularly in the cases of headaches, to ensure that no injury has caused the student to feel unwell.
· Ensure that in the event that an injury has caused a problem, the student must be referred to a First Aider for examination.
· At the start of each academic year, provide the first aid team with a list of students who are known to be asthmatic, anaphylactic, diabetic, epileptic or have any other serious illness.
· Have a file of up to date medical consent forms for every student in each year and ensure that these are readily available for staff responsible for school trips/outings.
TEACHERS will:
· Familiarise themselves with the first aid procedures in operation and ensure that they know who the current First Aiders are.
· Be aware of specific medical details of individual students when publicised by Heads of Year.
· Ensure that their students/tutees are aware of the procedures in operation.
· Never move a casualty until they have been assessed by a qualified First Aider unless the casualty is in immediate danger.
· Send for help to Reception as soon as possible either by a person or telephone, ensuring that the messenger knows the precise location of the casualty. Where possible, confirmation that the message has been received must be obtained.
· Reassure, but never treat, a casualty unless staff are in possession of a valid Emergency Aid in Schools Certificate or know the correct procedures; such staff can obviously start emergency aid until a First Aider arrives at the scene or instigate simple airway measures if clearly needed.
· Send a student who has minor injuries to Reception if they are able to walk where a First Aider will see them; this student should be accompanied.
· Send a student who feels generally ‘unwell’ to their respective Head or Assistant Head of School and not to a First Aider, unless their deterioration seems uncharacteristic and is causing concern.
· Ensure that they have a current medical consent form for every student that they take out on a school trip which indicates any specific conditions or medications of which they should be aware.
· Have regard to personal safety.
OFFICE STAFF will:
· Call for a qualified First Aider, unless they are one themselves, to treat any injured student. This should be done by telephone in the case of minor injuries or by a tannoy message in the case of serious injuries, giving the specific location of the casualty.
· Support the First Aiders in calling for an ambulance or contacting relatives in an emergency
· Send students who simply do not feel well to their respective Head or Assistant Head of School
· NOT administer paracetamol or other medications
THE EXECUTION OF THIS POLICY will be monitored by both the FIRST AID TEAM and GOVERNORS
Lawrence Montagu Geoffrey A. North
Headmaster Health & Safety Officer
14th October 2004