“It’s our polite nudge in the ribs to help you and your team stay organised and on task.”
This week’s subject is: First Aid.
Element 2.1.2: Effective illness and injury management and hygiene practices are promoted and implemented.
Are you confident that your Service meets all first aid regulatory requirements?
Does your service have detailed policies and procedures and robust systems in place to ensure compliance with First Aid?
When it comes to providing high-quality education and care, compliance with regulatory requirements is non-negotiable. Among these regulations, ensuring that educators are adequately trained in first aid is a critical element. These regulations are designed to ensure the safety, health, and well-being of all children in care. Understanding and implementing these requirements is essential for protecting children and for meeting the obligations of approved providers, nominated supervisors, and educators.
First aid qualifications:
The National Regulations (r136) mandate that at all times, at least one nominated supervisor or staff member who is immediately available to respond to emergencies must hold/have:
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- a current ACECQA approved first aid qualification
- undertaken current training in emergency asthma management
- undertaken current training in the management of anaphylaxis
Regulation 136 states that these qualifications must be held by individuals working directly with children. This requirement ensures that services are prepared to respond to incidents such as falls, choking, allergic reactions, or other medical emergencies that may arise whilst children are being educated and cared for.
It’s recommended best practice that several staff members within the service hold current first aid qualifications (including anaphylaxis and emergency asthma management training) to ensure someone is always in attendance at the service (and immediately available in an emergency) that holds first aid qualifications. One staff member may hold one or more of the qualifications. Display and document who the appointed First Aid Officer is at all times.
First Aid qualifications (including anaphylaxis and emergency asthma management training) are considered to be current if they’ve been completed within three years. CPR must be completed within the previous year to be taken as current. Ensure your Service maintains records of all staff member’s qualifications and expiry dates to ensure currency and compliance.
First Aid Kits:
The approved provider must ensure that an appropriate number of first aid kits are kept, and that they are suitably equipped and relative to the number of children at your service (r89).
Services should develop and maintain a consistent routine of auditing and restocking all First Aid kits available at the service, including portable kits, to ensure that they’re suitably equipped at all times that children are being educated and cared for. Consider keeping a register/checklist of the contents of each kit, which includes expiry dates for all items.
Ensure that your first aid kits are clearly labelled, are easily recognisable and easily accessible to adults in all areas of your service. Consider conducting a risk assessment to determine the most appropriate locations, number of first aid kits and suitable contents for your first aid kits. Use a first aid kit checklist from a reputable source as a basis of what to include in your kits and add to your kits based on the findings of your risk assessment.
When determining how many first aid kits is suitable for your service, consider the following:
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- the number of approved places at your service
- the physical environment and layout of the service
- the proximity of rooms to each other
- the distance from outdoor play spaces to indoor spaces or to the nearest first aid kit location. Multi-story services should have at least one kit on each level/floor, as recommended best practice.
Resources:
Administration of First Aid- Policy Guidelines
Safe Work Australia- First Aid in the Workplace
Model Code of Practice- First Aid in the Workplace
Adrenaline Injector storage, expiry and disposal
First Aid qualifications and training
Within System7 go to Quality Area 2/ Modules 8 & 11 to submit self-assessment notes and if required, open a QIP issue if you identify any areas of improvement.
The Childcare Centre Desktop has a range of resources to assist services with first aid compliance. These include Administration of First Aid Policy, Administration of First Aid Procedure, First Aid Kit Checklist, First Aid Kit Fact Sheet, First Aid Officer Position Description, First Aid Certificate Register templates and much more.
Resources, NQS Element, Regulation and System7 links:
Childcare Centre Desktop – Childcare Centre Desktop
National Quality Standard – QA 2/2.1.2- Health practices and procedures
National Regulations – 89, 136, 168 (2)(a)(iv)
System7 Module – QA 2/ Modules 8 & 11
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