Posted By Melanie Black I was wondering if anybody could offer some advice on the following. If an employee is injured at work and requires medical attention, how are they transported to hospital? When I attended my First Aid course, the tutor informed me that people should be taken in a taxi for minor injuries, or of course, an ambulance for anything major, as most people's car insurance does not cover them for the purpose of an 'ambulance'. We checked this out with the insurers of our company cars, who confirmed that the vehicles are not insured for the purpose of transporting employees to hospital/walk in centres. So, what do you do if an employee has a minor injury which requires further medical attention? If you send them in a taxi, does your company foot the bill?? Any thoughts and feedback on this issue would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Mel

Posted By Melanie Black Hi Shelagh, Thanks for the reply. Our company cars definitely aren't insured for the purpose. Taxi's apparently are, so that's the route I'm looking to go down. I just wonder if there is any legal requirement for us to pay for the transport. This debate has been going on for months, and I want to get a policy in place then there's no confusion. I'll let you know how I get on. Thanks again, Mel

Posted By Melanie Black Hi Shelagh, As somebody has just pointed out in an email to me, another concern regarding staff transporting injured persons in company vehicles is - what if they become further ill during the journey? You potentially have an unconscious casualty being transported by an un-qualified first aider! Quite often company cars are off site, and not all of our first aiders can drive anyway!!! The cost of a taxi from our premises to the local hospital is about £5, so it won' break the bank. Another suggestion I've had is to contact employees family members and get them to come and transport them. However, what happens if that family member works here too (quite common here)??? A tough one isn't it?!! Many Thanks, Mel

Posted By William O'Donnell Interested to read the responses that you recieved. Personnally I would not consider any injury, or illness, that required medical treatment as 'minor'. My understanding is that such conditions are defined as not requiring treatment beyond first aid? It would therefore follow that if an employee needs to go to hospital A&E, then they go by ambulance. Just as an after thought I once knew of an employee who suffered a suspected heart attack, and was instructed to 'clock out' and drive himself to the hospital for a check up!!

Posted By William O'Donnell Fair point, reference tying up the ambulance service with non-life threatening calls. I assume (theres that word again!) that a suitably trained first aider accompanies the injured party to hospital in the taxi? I wonder if there is any relevant 'case law' which covers this subject?

Posted By Melanie Black Thanks for the responses. With reference to William's post, I could not possibly justify calling an ambulance for somebody who had a staple partially embedded in the side of their hand. The first aider made the right decision in not attempting to dig the staple out, and advised the employee to visit the local walk in centre. (He may also have required a tetanus injection). Apologies if my definition of minor injuries was a bit ambiguous. I basically mean things like small cuts and injuries which the first aiders feel should be given further medical attention, but are not serious enough to call an ambulance out for. I just wondered what other companies actually do in these situations. Thanks again, Mel