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Posted By CeeCee P
Your advice please.
We have an aed machine at one of our locations; it is a shared tenancy i.e. we have our own rooms with card access on a couple of floors, with other companies occupying one or more rooms on the same floor.
One of the staff members of one company has just been first aid trained and came to ask if she could use our defib. She is only first aid trained and not defib trained, which in itself is an issue.
My advice was as follows:
She should speak to her safety rep, find out their procedures and their risk assessment etc. My reasons are that this company should not be using us to mitigate their risk - what if we move our machine, it breaks down, we decide we don’t need one etc – we are not obligated to let them know this sort of information, just our own staff.
I did however add that if a situation arose where someone needed a defib we would never refuse anyone its use; it would be rather stupid in my opinion to say - nope its ours only, especially if a life was at stake. But then again I wonder if this is the right response, especially with all the cry wolf, sue for the sake of suing culture!
Am I being overly cautious / not cautious enough – or is there merit to my response? Any other suggestions, comments?
I a mere safety officer so your guidance will be appreciated; please be gentle.
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Posted By Coshh Assessor
There's no reason why you shouldn't cooperate with the other company on this (that's all it would be) and well done to the first aider for asking. Obviously they do need to be trained first and on the same model, and whoever has access to it needs clear instructions about whether or not to lend it out in this way.
Maybe there is potential for cutting training costs in future by having joint refresher training.
Or how about an alternative - an arrangement that your trained defibber could be called to their company with the machine? That's no different from doing the same for a member of the public on the street outside (which presumably you would do).
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Posted By CeeCee P
Thanks, I didn't actually think about it like that; that does make sense! And you are right, I would never refuse it to anyone who really needed it.
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Posted By Renny Thomson
I agree with the previous reply. Apply a bit common sense and share the machine. Hopefully none of you will ever need it. Most AEDs are self-testing in respect of use.
Another suggestion is to be more specific in you subject heading when you post. "Any advice please..." could put many off reading your post.
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Posted By Ron Hunter
AEDs (particularly the fully automatic ones) are designed to be used by lay-persons, so "defib training" shouldn't be an issue. Being competent to deliver CPR is key.
Is your machine semi- or fully automatic?
Make sure also that someone has the duty to ensure it is properly maintained in accordance with mnfrs instruction/recommendation.
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Rank: Guest
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Posted By Coshh Assessor
I disagree that training isn't needed for an AED. Yes, it is very easy to use, but the first aider needs to be familiar with it to know how to turn it on, where to put the pads, what to expect it to do and to be clear about how to respond to its instructions - they shouldn't be finding this out for the first time in an emergency.
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Rank: Guest
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Posted By CeeCee P
All procedures are in place for our people; they know what to do, are trained, inspect the machine etc etc etc. The query is regarding another company who want to share the use of our AED machine! I don't have time to be responsible for another companies training, usage of the machine etc. I like the idea of cooperation, but it will depend on the other company, and if we are going to work with them, how this will work.
Thanks for the replies, no more advice needed.
Kind regards, CeeCee P
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Posted By A Campbell
I think you will find that only fully automatic machines would be allowed to be used by first responders etc after appropriate training.
Semi automatic machines would more likely be issued to health professionals who have advance cardiac life saving training (ACLS) due to the need to recognise cardiac arrhythmia types etc
I think there have been previous threads about this equipment in the past... invaluable in remote areas where the emergency services may be in short supply, but not sure about busy public inner city type areas where help is normally at hand within minutes and basic cardiac resuscitation would be of equal benefit?
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