First Aid-Lesson 5-Risk and hazard management

Potential hazards and risk

Identification of risks and hazards for a first aider, which may affect the process of treatment for the casualty and the first aider as well. Proper risk management requires immediate decisions to address the incident. Failure to respond promptly may result in the casualties’ injuries going from bad to worse and can lead to death if not handled accordingly. It is important during this risk assessment process not to put yourself in unnecessary danger and to remove the hazard if possible before you commence First aid or CPR.

A hazard is a potential situation or source that can cause harm, such as a life-threatening injury or illness, or damage to property or the surrounding environment.

Risk is the potential for a hazard to affect you or anyone nearby, causing damage or life-threatening injury.

Once the emergency has happened, you need to make sure everyone around the affected area is

Once the emergency has happened, you need to make sure everyone around the affected area is safe and check for any hazards and risks to:

Yourself
Bystanders
Casualties

Conduct a primary survey of the scene to identify anything that may pose a risk or threaten the safety of those on or around the affected area.

Identification of hazards

During the early risk assessment, a potential hazard must be identified or eliminated and, if possible, control measures introduced. Following an incident, there may be more than one hazard at the scene.

Unstable structures	Smoke
Slippery surfaces	Gases
Sharp metal edges	Fumes
Risk of explosion	Fire
Oncoming traffic	Electricity
Flammable material	Chemicals
Fast flowing water	Bullets
Falling masonry	Bombs
Fallen power lines	Biohazards

Use your senses to identify any potential hazard

Use your senses to identify any potential hazards before starting first aid.

Senses:

Hear
See
Smell

Check-up high

Any potential overhead hazards, like trees, unstable structures, any damaged power lines, etc
Extreme weather like storms, wind, or lightning

Check at eye level

Level of visibility or light
Potential on come traffic or bystanders
Hazards like fire, gas, smoke, and chemicals

Check down low

Any loose wires
Tripping hazards
Ground condition or stability
And the presence of sharp objects

Conducting a risk assessment

To conduct a comprehensive risk assessment, it is important:

You should be aware of the outcome of the incident
Understanding the possibility of the event happening
Determine the level of severity of the risk

Dynamic risk assessment
A dynamic risk assessment needs to be conducted if situations are:

An environment where the incident occurs changes rapidly
Any unpredictable risks
When a judgment must be made by the person
When a provider has been using multiple approaches towards assessing a risk

Minimise the risk
After hazard identification, it’s vital to minimise risk by implementing several control measures. The purpose of minimising risk is to provide a safe environment for a first-aid provider.

These control measures are:

By removing or eliminating the hazard
Use of proper protective equipment against a hazard
Removing the casualty from danger or isolating them from it

Isolating the hazard
A first aid provider can try to isolate the hazards as well by:

Relocating the causality
Advise the bystander to leave the scene of the incident to prevent any further casualties
By disconnecting power lines, switchboards, or water lines involved directly or indirectly with the incident

To make the situation as safe as possible, it is important to act quickly above all. Remember, your safety is most important before treating any casualty.

If the situation is too risky

If any situation is too dangerous to handle, leave it to emergency personnel who have the training, skills, and equipment to manage it. Relying on your own safety in a dangerous situation may increase the risk of casualties. Some other situations may allow removal of the hazard or the casualty from the hazard. For example, removing a hazard would mean leaning away from broken glass at a motor vehicle accident scene or turning off the electricity at the main power board in an electrocution incident.

You should avoid moving casualties as little as you can, unless there is a risk of a hazard that you cannot remove, like fire or poisonous fumes. Moving a casualty, especially someone who is semi-conscious or unconscious, is very difficult and should be left to the emergency response team, who have better training and equipment to protect themselves as well as the casualty.

If it is necessary to move a casualty before an ambulance arrives, you need to take extreme care and use good manual handling practice, provided they are not at further risk, and you should check the casualties in the position in which you find them.

In any situation where you are unable to check a casualty in their current position, gently roll them onto their back, supporting the head and neck during the movement.