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Posted By Mark Bywater
During a night shift last night an employee failed to ensure that they had sufficient medication on site and started to have a diabetic hyperglycemia attack.
An ambulance was called as the first aiders were unsure of the symptoms and feared the worst.
Both first aiders were unaware that this employee had diabetes.
How do other businesses ensure that first aiders are aware of staff disabilities without it breaching a persons right to keep this information private, even if it could be life threatening not to know such things?
We do have pre-employment medical forms but believe it or not some people actually tell lies on these to get a job.
Any ideas are very welcome.
Thanks,
Mark
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Posted By CFT
Mark
It is a tough call when the individual prefers total anonymity; the difficulty then is how can you meet the conditions of sec 2 of HSWA (among others)as it would certainly not take much time effort or cost to put a system in place.
I appreciate that you could have several individuals all requiring specific needs and it can be demanding at times, but a specific RA detailing what needs to be done to reduce the likelihood of suffering by the individual would be a necessity IMO.
We happen to have two individuals in the organisation suffering from completely different problems, one is an allergy to wasp/bee stings (one sting will mean certain death, without copious amounts of adrenaline and anti histamine) and the other is epilepsy, both are fantastic workers but preferred to be private about the conditions; I explained that to help then in an hour of need, I would have to share the information with those that needed to know, once it was explained why, they both readily agreed to shared information which meant we could offer a level of care to both that could ultimately save their lives, (this is the really condensed version, there was of course a lot more to it to achieve the desired result)training has been included in how to treat the individuals, just in case you wondered.
Do talk to the individual/s concerned and clearly explain why you want to ensure they are suitably protected; I have yet to meet an individual that was not happy about shared information, there are many ways to find out and there are many ways to deal with it.
I have heard of the cessation of employment to rid potential liability; this IMO would be a despicable way forward, as 'there by the grace of God go I'
Good luck
CFT
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Posted By Colin Reeves
Since I became a insulin dependant diabetic I have always ensured that the nominated first aiders on site are aware of this. So far, touch wood, they have not needed to know this, but I do not have a problem in them knowing.
Colin
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Posted By Jay Joshi
We have a system "Emergency Medical Attention Forms". The forms are given to all employees when they start work on site, and are completed on a purely voluntary basis.
Only one copy of the form is stored on site and this is in a secure file stored in the gatehouse. The contents are kept confidential and are only shared with a first aider or the emergency services in the case of a medical emergency involving the individual in question.
Not the quickest means, but better than nothing. All our first aiders and security staff have radios for emergency contact
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Posted By Roger White
Mark,
Your first aiders took the correct action and called an ambulance. Your first aiders are there primarily to deal with work related accidents, and diabetes does not come into that category. First Aid at Work training covers things like heart attacks, angina, strokes etc which are conditions which can come on suddenly and unexpectedly. FAW does not cover pre-existing conditions such as diabetes. Your diabetic was obviously aware that they had the condition as they normally carried medication. They had obviously assessed the risk of not receiving treatment as a result of non-disclosure and were prepared to take that risk. Calling an ambulance discharged your duty of care under Section 2.
I can understand the fustration of a first aider who wants to help but is unable to make a diagnosis, but the reality is that a first is not able to offer any treatment to a diabetic which will help the situation. Hyperglycemia is generally treated with an injection of insulin, certainly not a procedure that I would expect from a first aider. Hypoglycemia requires a sugar rich drink such as normal Coke, but how much? Too much can send a diabetic from Hypo to Hyper. Administering an asprin for a headache is not allowed for a first aider and the same principle must apply to other similar medications. The best that you can do and be on the safe side is assist the victim to self administer, but if they have already slipped into a coma that is not an option. For the patients safety you need to be taking blood samples and measuring blood glucose levels, but again that is beyond the remit of a first aider.
My qualifications? I am both a diabetic and a first aider (and a H&S Pro).
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