Woodlands - Administration of First Aid Policy
First aid can save, and lives prevent minor injuries or illnesses from becoming major. The ability to provide prompt basic first aid is particularly important in the contact of an early childhood service where Educators have a duty of care and obligation to assist children who are injured, become ill or require support with the administration of medication
National Quality Standard (NQS)
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Quality Area 2: Children’s Health and Safety |
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2.1.1 |
Wellbeing and comfort |
Each child’s wellbeing and comfort is provided for, including appropriate opportunities to meet each child’s needs for sleep, rest and relaxation |
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2.1.2 |
Health practices and procedures |
Effective illness and injury management and hygiene practices are promoted and implemented. |
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2.2 |
Safety |
Each child is protected |
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2.2.1 |
Supervision |
At all times, reasonable precautions and adequate supervision ensure children are protected from harm and hazard |
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2.2.2 |
Incident and emergency management |
Plans to effectively manage incidents and emergencies are developed in consultation with relevant authorities, practiced and implemented |
Education and Care Services National Regulations
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Children (Education and Care Services) National Law NSW |
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12 |
Meaning of serious incident |
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85 |
Incident, injury, trauma and illness policies and procedures |
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86 |
Notification to parents of incident, injury, trauma, and illness |
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87 |
Incident, injury, trauma and illness record |
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88 |
Infectious diseases |
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89 |
First aid kits |
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97 |
Emergency and evacuation procedures |
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161 |
Authorizations to be kept in enrolment record |
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162 |
Health information to be kept in enrolment record |
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168 |
Education and care service must have policies and procedures |
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174 |
Prescribed information to be notified to the Regulatory Authority |
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176 |
Time to notify certain information to the Regulatory Authority |
Related Policies
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Purpose
Woodlands has a duty of care to provide and protect the health and safety of children, families, educators, and visitors of the Service. This policy aims to support educators to:
- Preserve life
- Ensure that ill or injured persons are stabilised and comforted until medical assistance intervenes
- Monitor ill or injured persons in the recovery stage
- Apply additional first aid tactics if the condition does not improve
- Ensure the environment is safe and other people are not in danger of becoming ill or injured.
Scope
This policy applies to children, families, staff, management, and visitors of the Service.
Implementation
First aid is the emergency aid or treatment given to persons suffering illness or injury following an accident and prior to obtaining professional medical services if required. It includes emergency treatment, maintenance of records, dressing of minor injuries, recognition, and reporting of health hazards, and participation in safety programs. Legislation that governs the operation of approved children’s services is based on the health, safety, and welfare of children, and requires that children are protected from hazards and harm.
Management is responsible for:
- Safeguarding every reasonable precaution to protect children at the Service from harm and/or hazards that can cause injury
- Ensuring that at least one educator is in attendance at all times with current approved first aid qualifications and is immediately available at all times that children are being educated and cared for by the Service. This can be the same person who has anaphylaxis management training and emergency asthma management training.
- Appointing a nominated first aid officer
- Ensuring a risk assessment is conducted prior to an excursion to identify risks to health, safety, or wellbeing and specifying how these risks will be managed and minimised.
- Ensuring that first aid training details are recorded and kept up to date on each staff member’s record.
- Ensuring there is an induction process for all new staff, casual and relief staff, that includes providing information on the location of first aid kits and specific first aid requirements and individual children’s allergies.
- Ensuring that parents are notified when practicable or within 24 hours if their child is involved in an incident, injury, trauma, or illness at the Service and that details are recorded on the Incident, Injury, Trauma, and Illness Record.
- Ensuring the Regulatory Authorities are notified within 24 hours if a child is involved in a serious incident, injury, trauma, or illness at the Service.
- Ensuring that staff members are offered support and debriefing subsequent to a serious incident requiring the administration of first aid.
- Ensuring a resuscitation flow chart is displayed in a prominent position in the indoor and outdoor environments of the Service.
- Keeping up to date with any changes in procedures for the administration of first aid and ensuring that all educators are informed of these changes.
A Nominated Supervisor/ Responsible Person will:
- Maintain a current approved first aid qualification
- Support staff when dealing with a serious incident, trauma
- Provide and maintain an appropriate number of up-to-date, fully-equipped first aid kits that meet Australian Standards
- Provide and maintain a transportable first aid kit that can be taken to excursions and other activities
- Monitor the contents of all first aid kits and arranging the replacement of stock, including when the use-by date has been reached
- Dispose of out-of-date materials appropriately
- Ensure safety signs showing the location of first aid kits are clearly displayed
- Ensure that all educators’ approved first aid qualifications, anaphylaxis management training, and emergency asthma management training are current and meet the requirements of the National Act and National Regulations and are approved by ACECQA.
- Provide internal training of the administration of an auto-injection device annually and documenting on staff files
- Keep up to date with any changes in the procedures for the administration of first aid
- Contact families immediately if a child has had a head injury whilst at the Service.
- Ensure that appropriate documentation is being recorded by the Nominated Supervisor / Responsible Person regarding incidents, injury, trauma and illnesses, and the administration of first aid. Documentation of the following must be recorded;
- Name and age of the child
- Circumstances leading to the incident, injury, trauma or illness (including any symptoms)
- Time and date
- Details of action taken by the service including any medication administered, first aid provided or
- Medical personnel contacted
- Details of any witnesses
- Names of any person the service notified or attempted to notify and the time and date of this
- Signature of the person making the entry and time and date of this.
Educators will:
- Implement appropriate first aid procedures when necessary
- Maintain current approved first aid qualifications, and qualifications in anaphylaxis management and emergency asthma management, as required
- Practice CPR and administration of an auto-injection device annually
- Ensure that all children are adequately supervised while providing first aid and comfort for a child involved in an incident or suffering trauma
- Ensure that the details of any incident requiring the administration of first aid are recorded on the Incident, Injury, Trauma, and Illness Record accurately.
- Conduct a risk assessment prior to an excursion to identify risks to health, safety or wellbeing and specifying how these risks will be managed and minimised
Parents will:
- Sign Service records of accidents or injuries that have occurred, acknowledging they have been made aware of the incident and the first aid that treatment that was given to the child.
- Provide the required information for the Service’s medication record
- Provide written consent (via the enrolment record) for service staff to administer first aid and call an ambulance if required.
- Be contactable, either directly or through emergency contacts listed on the child’s enrolment record, in the event of an incident requiring the administration of first aid.
First Aid Kit
The Approved Provider of the Service will ensure that first aid kits are kept in accordance with the National Education and Care Service Regulations.
All First Aid Kits at the Service must:
- Be suitably equipped
- Not be locked
- Not contain paracetamol
- Be suitable for the number of employees and children and sufficient for the immediate treatment of injuries at the Service.
- Be easily accessible to staff and educators
- Be constructed of resistant material, be dustproof and of sufficient size to adequately store the required contents
- Be capable of being sealed and preferably be fitted with a carrying handle as well as have internal compartments.
- Contain a list of the contents of the kit.
- Be regularly checked using the First Aid Kit Checklist to ensure the contents are as listed and have not depreciated or expired.
- Have a white cross on a green background with the words 'First Aid' prominently displayed on the outside
- Be easily recognizable
- Be easy to access and if applicable, located where there is a risk of injury occurring.
- Include emergency telephone numbers, the phone number, and location of the nearest first aid trained educators
- Display a photograph of the first aid trained educators along with contact details to assist in the identification process.
- Be provided on each floor of a multi-level workplace.
- Be provided in each work vehicle.
- Be given precautionary measures such as sunscreen protection and portable water if working outdoors.
- Be taken on excursions and be attended by First Aid qualified educators.
- Be maintained in proper condition and the contents restocked as required.
Our first Aid delegated individual responsible for maintaining all First Aid kits at the Service is:
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FIRST AID OFFICER Name:________________________________________ Role:_________________________________
Number of First Aid Kits Responsible for at the Service: ______________________________________
Additional First Aid Officer: _____________________________________________________________
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These individuals are responsible for conducting and maintaining each first aid kit by complying with the First Aid Checklist, certifying each Kit has the required quantities, items are within their expiry dates and sterile products are sealed. This will occur after each use or if unused, at least annually.
Individuals along with the Nominated Supervisor will also consider whether the first aid kits and components are appropriate and effective for the Service’s hazards and the injuries that have occurred. If the kit requires additional resources, these individuals will advise and follow up with the Nominated Supervisor.
Our Service will display a well-recognised, standardised first aid sign to assist in easily locating first aid kits. Signage will comply with AS 1319:1994 – Safety Signs for the Occupational Environment.
First Aid Kit Checklist
Our Service will use the Checklist in Safe Work Australia’s First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice as a guide to what to include in our First Aid Kit.
https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/model-code-practice-first-aid-workplace
We will determine the need for additional items to those in the checklist, or whether some items are unnecessary, after analysing the number of children at our Service and what injuries children or adults may incur. We will review our incident, injury, trauma, and illness records to help us make a knowledgeable decision about what to include.
For further advice on first aid in the workplace, refer to the following website for state and territory specifications.
https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/first-aid
Source
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Review
| Date Reviewed/Updated | Modifications |
| September 2016 |
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| September 2017 |
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| October 2017 |
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| May 2018 |
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| January 2024 |
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