Ahead of World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April, Turtle Defib Cabinets is recommending employees everywhere to learn the location of their nearest defibrillator and bleed control kit.
In the event of a serious bleed injury or cardiac arrest, action needs to be taken in less than five minutes. Therefore, being confident of where equipment can be found is a sensible ‘just in case’ strategy that can mean the difference between life and death.
Somewhat shockingly, there is still no legislation in the UK for businesses to install Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) in their premises. Nevertheless, Turtle also urges any person finding a lack of lifesaving medical equipment nearby in their warehouse, workshop or office to question their health and safety departments and petition for a higher level of employee care.
There is also an opportunity for businesses to contribute to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Targets while keeping their employees safe; installing an external locked cabinet is an important resource for the local community.
For every minute that passes without defibrillation, the chance of survival decreases by 7 - 10%, with survival being unlikely after 10 minutes.
There are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year according to the British Heart Foundation and the survival rate is less than one in 10. Considering the incidence of cardiac arrests and the critical time scale in which a person requires defibrillation to survive, Turtle maintains that Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) should be available in all places where ambulance response could exceed five minutes. The time taken to retrieve the equipment must also be factored in, meaning many business premises should ensure multiple defibs are accessible.
A person suffering a catastrophic injury can bleed out and die in as little as three minutes.
According to RIDDOR, 135 workers were killed in work-related accidents in 2022/23 and there were 60,645 employee non-fatal injuries reported by employers; of which 32% were slips trips and falls, 11% involved a person being struck by a moving object and both falls from height and acts of violence were recorded at 8%. The risk of a person suffering a bleed injury in one of these scenarios is high so health and safety departments should ensure they have Ambulance Service designed and approved bleed control kits in premises and on-site vehicles – accessible within a minute or two at the most.
Furthermore, the Office for National Statistics revealed in January 2024 that knife crime has surged by 5% in the past year so retail and hospitality businesses located in hot spot town and city centres have an opportunity to safeguard their staff and the public by possessing a bleed control kit. And – as with any publicly accessible and registered defibrillator – a 999 operator will direct a caller to the nearest public bleed control kit if required, meaning an externally installed bleed control cabinet is beneficial for the whole community 24-7.
Mike Dowson, Founder and MD or Turtle Defib Cabinets, said: “We never think the worst will happen, but the figures are sobering; 30,000 people experience cardiac arrest each year, 60,645 employees were injured at work last year and there were 48,716 knife-enabled crime offences in the year to September 2023. Then you look at the action and survival statistics and it’s clear that defibs and bleed control kits must be within reach in just a couple of minutes - the chance of survival after cardiac arrest decreases by 7 - 10% every minute without defibrillation and a person can bleed out in as little as three minutes.”
“This World Day for Safety and Health at Work, I’d like to urge everyone – no matter what type of premises or sector they work in – to know exactly where to find their nearest defib and bleed control kit. If the lifesaving medical equipment can’t be accessed and brought back to their location quickly, I suggest they speak to their health and safety department; with a commitment from businesses to own the equipment and from employees to know the location, then I’m certain more lives can be saved.”
