Prevention is better than cure

Have you ever thought about what you would do if one of your clients had a heart attack while working out? Or one of your guests lying by the pool suffers from heat stroke? Maybe somebody slips in the shower and hits their head as they fall?

These are scenarios that could potentially happen every day in a leisure facility. So what can be done to avoid such accidents and how can they be dealt with professionally to protect both the casualty and the facility?

Accident prevention

The first step in accident prevention is performing a first aid risk assessment for all areas, including the reception, gym, swimming pool and its surroundings, changing rooms and showers.

These risk assessments help to identify potential hazards and determine not only who may be harmed but how likely it is that somebody could be harmed by these hazards.

Once we know about these dangers we can look at how to manage them in order to avoid and reduce potential accidents.

It may be possible to remove some hazards fairly easily, whereas others may require long-term changes e.g. structural changes when future renovations are planned.

If we cannot remove hazards then we must think about managing them through implementation of safety measures and procedures to avoid injuries.

As an example, you may find a broken tile by the pool side. Left unchecked, this tile might cause injuries ranging from small cuts and broken toes to causing someone to trip and fall resulting in a more serious accident and head injuries.

If the broken tile is in a location where people walk in order to reach the pool, the likelihood of someone being injured is very high. Obviously maintenance should be informed in order to repair the damage, however they may not be able to repair it immediately, therefore an interim measure is required such as placing a plastic cone over the tile to ensure that nobody can trip on it.

Other measures that should be implemented to reduce the hazards and risk of injury are safe working procedures, instruction and training of staff or adequate and appropriate first aid provision. Dangers such as chemical hazards will require specially trained personnel to deal with them.

All measures taken should always be reflected in the Normal Operating Procedures (NOP) of the facility.

Dealing with accidents and injuries

Even if we have conducted a thorough risk assessment and implemented the safety measures accordingly, accidents and health problems can still occur. It's therefore essential that a good first aid set up is provided. This includes training an adequate number of staff, the placement of first aid boxes, provision of specialist equipment such as Automated External Defibrillators (AED's) and oxygen, a first aid room and the implementation of a reporting system.

First aiders should be qualified to international standards and be trained to a level adequate for them to deal with the types of injuries and health problems that have been identified in the facility's first aid risk assessment.

The facility may decide to have the majority of staff trained to a basic level so that they can deal with incidents immediately, while selecting a smaller team of people to receive more extensive training - such as First Aid at Work - so that they can deal with a more varied range of conditions and injuries.

It's important to have a system of reporting for any accidents or incidents so that additional safety measures can be implemented as and when required and that there is written reference for any action or treatment taken.

Accident reports should include details of the casualty, the first aider, date, time, location of accident, condition of casualty, treatment and follow up action. These reports will help to recognise problem areas and help to prevent further accidents, as well as provide support for insurance cases or legal action.

PRM International conducts risk assessments and provides a wide range of first aid and specialist training.

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