St John Ambulance Cymru offers advice on workplace safety to mark World Day For Safety And Health At Work

April 28th marks World Day For Safety And Health At Work and St John Ambulance Cymru is continuing its mission to enhance the health and wellbeing of communities in Wales by encouraging people to learn basic first aid skills to keep each other safe in the workplace.

According to research slips or falls, and strain injuries are amongst the most common workplace injuries. St John Ambulance Cymru offers its well known first aid courses to deal with these issues, as well as a Health and Safety Awareness course with the aim of preventing such accidents in the first place.

Wales’s leading first aid charity has put together the following advice to help deal with the most common workplace injuries.

Strains[NC1]  or sprains are injuries to the soft structure around the bones and joints. They should be treated initially by following the RICE procedure.
R – Rest the injured part. Help the injured person to sit or lie down and support the injured part in a comfortable position, raised if possible. I – Apply a cold compress or an Ice pack. C – Comfortable support. E – Elevate the injured part if possible. Advise the casualty to get medical advice, if necessary.

Cuts and grazes are common injuries that can usually be treated without medical intervention. A plaster is generally all that is required, and the wound will heal by itself in a few days. You should clean the wound by rinsing it under running water or using sterile wipes. Pat the wound dry using a gauze swab and cover it with a sterile gauze. If you don’t have these, use a clean, non-fluffy cloth, like a tea towel. 
For a cut, raise and support the injured part above the level of the heart. Avoiding touching the wound. Clean around the wound with soap and water. Make sure you are wiping away from the wound, using a clean swab for each stroke. Pat dry. Remove the cloth or gauze covering the wound and apply a sterile dressing or a large plaster.
Seek medical help if the wound won’t stop bleeding, if a foreign object like glass or a splinter is embedded in the wound, the wound is from a human or animal bite, you think the wound might be infected, or you are unsure whether the casualty has been immunised against tetanus.

You can find more useful first aid advice on our website

Lifting heavy items, or lifting incorrectly can lead to obvious injuries such as back issues because of the strain put on muscles and the spine. Top tips for lifting things safely include avoiding lifting by bending forward, instead bend your hips and knees and squat to pick up the object, keeping the object close to your body, and straightening your legs to complete the lift. You shouldn’t attempt to lift any heavy object above shoulder level and avoid turning or twisting your body whilst carrying the object.

Andy Jones, Interim CEO of St John Ambulance Cymru said; “For over 100 years St John Ambulance Cymru has been committed to continually working to enhance the health and wellbeing of communities in Wales. 

We are really proud to be able to offer training courses covering all aspects of Health and Safety in the workplace. Our trainers are qualified to deliver Manual Handling Training, Health and Safety Training and Fire Marshall Training to the same high standard so synonymous with our first aid training.  

We are also proud to be providers of a unique Mental Health Awareness course in an effort to provide mental health provision in line with physical health.

Profits from the sale of our training courses is used to help fund our charitable work, including free community and schools first aid training. By training with us you are helping to support future generations of lifesavers.”

You can find out more about our training courses by visiting our website.