Have had an employee say they fainted in the workplace and came to and other than slight knock when they hit ground though didn't say anything at the time and carried on working? No apparent reason for fainting - I suppose is must still be recorded as an accident as she was carrying a work activity?

Crikey! Betta's post was an emotional roller coaster; from humorous literary references to dead pals! At the very least it should be recorded as some first aid was (if it was) given at the time. Even if the first aid was sit still until you feel better. Then you can track back for any reoccurences.

Hi All, just to throw the cat among the pigeons......and I know how people like to report! fainting could or might be construed as losing conciousness, which under certain conditions would be RIDDORable? tongue firmly in cheek! Holmezy

In relation to fainting: among the accident/incident reports I see from my employer's schools are occasional reports of pupils fainting during secondary school science lessons. In almost all such cases the pupil involved is male, of early teen age and being shown a video clip of a baby being born. I confess I've never enquired as to whether the video clip involved is the same for all/most of the cases and especially graphic in nature. Older people in OS&H like myself might recall the eye safety video of 1970s vintage which had to be withdrawn from use because its inclusion of close-up footage of surgery to remove a foreign body from someone's eye caused some viewers to promptly keel over when they saw it. p.s. M - some forum users might wonder if you are really the fabled head of the special intelligence service alias MI6 and using OS&H as a subterfuge. However, if you are, you’re unlikely to admit to it - and any denial of course might simply be regarded as a perpetuation of such subterfuge! :-)

Some useful pragmatic responses have been made about 1) asking, tactfully of course, as to why the employee might have fainted, and 2) keeping a record of the incident, including the knock/bump to the employee's head. Here's another hopefully useful point: After instances where people have had head bumps but were able to carry on, it may also be appropriate for relevant people, notably close relatives and friends, to know of the incident and be alert for signs or mention of symptoms (e.g. double vision, headaches, dizziness) of delayed concussion or other adverse consequences. It is (or should be) standard practice in UK schools for pupils who have suffered head bumps but displayed no immediate after-effects. p.s. Good to see Betta's literary allusion at #2 providing some cultural improvement on this forum. At the risk of being pedantic - and also admitting that my knowledge of Jane Austen's novels is somewhat scant - wouldn't Liz Bennet's loss of consciousness in the presence of Mr Darcy be classed as more of a swoon than a faint?!!! :-)

Most of my fainters have been young ladies who haven't been eating properly/(at all).