Dave There was a long thread on Epi-pens a while ago, but aspirin was also mentioned. Not a clear answer, but have a read yourself. http://forum.iosh.co.uk/...aspx?g=posts&t=96384

oops sorry... Dave!

Dispensing is not part of F-Aid law; its as simple as that I doubt that any judge in the country would allow a prosecution where somebody was trying their best within the framework of the law

No, it is not as simple as that. http://www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/faqs.htm#tablets First aiders are not to give medicine EXCEPT for the case of aspirin. There is a specific exception for administering aspirin in the case of heart attack. The casualty does NOT need to provide their own aspirin. On the epipen topic, first aiders can administer an epipen to a casualty who has been prescribed that epipen by a doctor. The casualty DOES need to provide the epipen.

I have to say that I am no medic, however whilst HSE say it may be permissable to give aspirin in some circumstances you still need to be sure the person involved is not on other drugs that may thin the blood (eg Warfarin, Heparin or Fragmin) otherwise I suspect you may help hasten their departure rather than save them!

I do hope you will write to the HSE and put them right then, because they've been spreading misinformation all over the place: http://www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/faqs.htm#tablets they say aspirin is the exception to the rules about distributing medicine. http://www.hse.gov.uk/fi...rs/fawnewsletter0211.pdf they say they are worried that firstaiders are getting mixed messages and might not give aspirin. http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l74.htm the first aid at work ACOP paragraph 42 again says aspirin is teh exception to teh general rule about medicines http://www.aifawto.co.uk...pirin-administration.asp letters to first-aid training organisations - "The teaching of assisting a casualty to take an aspirin (300mg) whom you believe might be suffering a heart attack should be encouraged" You'll also need to set the Red Cross (at least) straight, because (as previously noted) they are contradicting you in training for FAW. Can you provide a reference to the FA law that disallows provision of any and all medicine including aspirin?

So first-aiders are now diagnosticians ? Pray tell me the difference between pain from a stomach ulcer and a heart problem ? Not only that, but aspirin given to men reduces the likelihood of heart attacks caused by clots [blood] but increases the incidence of stokes....in women the reverse is the case. Hopefully your first-aiders are told not to administer any medication to an unconscious or confused person....otherwise your well-meant administering of aspirin, to me, would lead to major stomach hemorrhage.

Interesting concept CRN But how do you provide individual confidentiality with this checklist method, where is the information stored, who has access to it etc? Unless your RA has detailed risks to injured/ill employees due to location, accessibility, communication etc Some areas of potential treatment being offered may be borderline with regards to offering first aid (as the name suggests) until specialised assistance turns up on site. It is documented that offering a 300mg dose to a conscious person presenting chest pains is unlikely to cause complications, although in most clinical settings there is alternative therapy immediately available should adverse reactions/contra indications exist. Caution and common sense prevails in just how far you should go as each individual incident should be approached on it's own merit!

Warfarin does not thin the blood. It only stops clotting. Rich

First aiders are not medically qualified [most] Diagnosing complaints is not in their emit and could be dangerous, hence the "do no harm" Fully trained primary healthcare professionals still make mistakes, and misdiagnosis of heart problems is rife, as is misdiagnosis of everything else (30% error rate in diagnoses by doctors) Even giving someone a "plaster" risks anaphylactic shock....how bland is a plaster ? Mind you, I suppose if you had an epipen around they could partially solve the problem they created. Aspirin should also NOT be offered to people who are intolerant to ibuprofen or naproxen. Or anyone under 18, or who is asthmatic. Not to mention diabetics treated by drugs along.. Etc Etc Etc....... Just hope the diagnosis of "heart attack" is right.

Nonsense. Diagnosing complaints is precisely what they are trained to do. A first aider is trained to diagnose and take appropriate action within the limits of their training. You seem to want first-aiders to make no decision and do everything the same (or possiblty do nothing at all - not even apply a sticking plaster). It's just not that simple - first aiders have to assess what the problem is and act appropriately. CPR for a drowning is different from CPR for something else. Treatment for heat stroke is different from treatment for epilepsy, or hypoglycemia, or shock, or heart attack. That training DOES include administering aspirin in case of suspected heart attack. Current first aid advice is that for a suspected heart attack, with an adult casualty who can take aspirin, you should give a 300mg aspirin and advise them to chew it. Really, what part of "with an adult casualty who can take aspirin" (or, as I said previously "if they are adult and can confirm they can take aspirin") is it that you don't understand? Aspirin SHOULD be offered to an asult suspected heart attack casualty who says they can take aspirin. YOU are contradicting current first aid advice. YOU are contradicting current first aid training. I hope you've thought through the implications of instructing first-aiders to go against their training. Personally, I always hope that any of my first aiders, or any foirst aider who treats me, or me if I'm treating someone, gets the diagnosis right.

Ding, ding! Could I suggest a breather? I must admit that I sat there last night, composed a response and then decided against it; but here goes. I suggest that first aiders do of course have to carry out some sort of diagnosis, for example under what circumstances would you be able to give CPR if you hadn’t carried out some form of assessment (diagnosis) indicating that it was necessary in the first place? Both the HSE and NHS sites ‘recommend’ the giving of aspirin for suspected (conscious) heart attack victims. There is always a risk that there is a contraindication, but this has to be weighed up against not giving it at all. It would seem reasonable to conclude that both the HSE and NHS have considered the various issues and have concluded that on balance the risk is acceptable, the risk of not giving outweighs the risk of giving. I am aware that there are allergic reactions to plasters, although I must admit I had never considered this to be as serious as anaphylaxis and couldn’t find any evidence of this after a brief Google. I suffer from diabetes treated with oral medication only but my doctor also prescribes aspirin which I take daily. I’m still here 8 years later!

"Aspirin inhibits the enzyme cyclooxygenase resulting in a decrease in the output of the platelet aggregating factor thromboxane A2. This beneficial effect appears to be completely offset by aspirin's inhibition of prostacyclin which is a very effective inhibitor of platelet aggregating" Proper trials do not confirm the beneficial effect of aspirin. Oh, and CHEWING the tablet is recommended.....after making sure that it is not enteric coated... "By all three measurements, chewed aspirin worked fastest. It needed only five minutes to reduce TxB2 concentrations by 50%; the Alka-Seltzer took almost 8 minutes, and the swallowed tablet took 12 minutes. Similarly, it took 14 minutes for the chewed tablet to produce maximal platelet inhibition; it took Alka-Seltzer 16 minutes and the swallowed tablet 26 minutes"

I despair... This question has been answered correctly by almost everyone but still we argue.... Current guidelines suggest giving aspirin swings the balance of probability in the casualties favour. Complications from one 300mg aspirin are possible but very rare. Complications from a heart attack = come on John cut and paste some good long carido words for us :) I'll use death. As John mentioned stroke, I asked my wife, (Stroke Nurse) who just chuckled and rolled her eyes, aspirin long term yes, one 300mg tablet - no. Also I wanted to ask if anyone has been in a situation with a poorly patient who is rapidly getting worse, sat in the rain, chaos all around, and then had to fill out a check-list to decide if we pop an aspirin under their tongue? Final point I say to students who ask me this when I am teaching FAW, If in doubt call 999/112. They will advise aspirin and then you can just blame them! Job done. http://www.bhf.org.uk/he...itions/heart-attack.aspx

Personal experience from 3 weeks ago after self presenting at hospital was that I was given an aspirin as a precaution based on my symptoms (tight chest/difficulty breathing). It wasn't a heart attack as it turned out but it's the same recommendation treatment I would expect from our first aiders.