Today I have had discussions with our union rep regarding the use of the sink in our break room for administering first aid. We did have a small sink (was big enough for you to put a hand in) which was only supplied with cold water, which was a 'first aid sink'. Recently I had the sink replaced with a emergency eye wash unit. During my first aid assessment there was a need for an emergency eye wash in the area but with the break room sink less than 2 meters away I did not feel there was a need for a dedicated first aid sink. The first aid sink had been used maybe once or twice during the a year. The union rep has now raised concerns that we are administering first aid using this sink to wash small cuts before using a plaster, he feels it inappropriate to have blood in the sink when food is prepared in that area, (It is a break room with 3 microwaves and 2 toasters and a kettle). Does anyone have a view on this, he wants to discuss this further but I can't seam to find any guidance etc to help backup either my view or his. Thanks Richard

Firstly I think it needs to be clarified what the difference is between a sink and a wash hand basin. In some respects your union rep may have a point. If the "sink" is provided for food use then that is what it should be solely used for. If you need a wash hand basin which are for personal hygiene purposes (and you probably do) then this should be used for washing prior to the administration of first aid. Wash hand basins for personal hygiene should be provided with both hot and cold running water and/or a suitable means of mixing. The basic principles of avoiding cross contamination apply here. I do take your point that the primary concern here is the eye wash station but it is important not to confuse the different types of risk and try to cover them all with one solution. It may be that the siting of the eye wash station in the break room is not appropriate but it is difficult to tell without more detail.