I know I am the H&S person but today I had an accident at work.
I cut myself, I do it all the time and consider it a hazard of the job, especially if you are a bit hamfisted like I am. But today I cut myself quite badly, it was during a demonstration and I ended up bleeding all over the place. I used up all of the plasters that were in my tool box, the old ladies in the audience were rummaging in their handbags and throwing plasters to me and the first aid kit of the hall where I was demonstrating was very inadequate. I ended up by winding a bit of parcel tape round my finger and that stopped the flow until it was time to load the car to go home and it started again.
So a fresh bit of parcel tape and a glove and I got home without causing too much mess where I planned to sort it out with my workshop/home first aid kit. In response to what I found in my first aid kit at home, which I thought was pretty good can I please ask you all,
before you have an accident, to please check through the contents of your workshop first aid kit?I admit to not regularly checking my first aid kit, I don't really care if my dressings are a bit out of date but today I found that on opening some of the dressings they just disintegrated because of their age. I normally only need a plaster or two but today I needed a lot more. I could have used a triangular bandage, I have 4 of those, or elbow dressings,2,or burn dressings, about 5, along with an assortment of different shaped and coloured plasters. None of which was any use to me as I needed a finger dressing. Tomorrow first thing, I am going to town to buy non fluffy dressings and tube-e-grip and a finger stall or two. I will also get some suture strips and another tube of super glue for the first aid box. So a valuable lesson learnt. I will mark today as an anniversary on my calendar for next year and get in the habit of replacing my first aid stuff a bit more often. It would have been embarassing if it had been a student. o please, take it from me, it is time to check the contents of your first aid boxes.
PS. I should really have gone to hospital and had a couple of stitches put in but for reasons that I will not go in to that was not going to happen and I am happy with my ability to sort wounds out. I was lucky not to cut a tendon. So no washing up for a few day for me!!