Workplace First Aid Drills: A Practical Guide for WA Teams

Someone collapses near the workshop. A colleague calls for help. The nominated first aider is at the other end of the site.

What happens in between?

That is a useful question to ask before an emergency. Your training register tells you who has completed a course. A short team exercise helps you see whether people can put the workplace plan into action.

WorkSafe WA says first aid arrangements and training should reflect the hazards and risks at your workplace. A useful place to start is one realistic incident and the people, equipment and access it would require.^[1]

Choose something your team could actually face

An office might practise the response to a visitor becoming unresponsive. A workshop might use a simulated serious cut. An outdoor team might work through a colleague becoming confused during hot weather.

Make it an announced exercise. Use a manikin for CPR practice and trainer devices where needed. Keep people clear of operating machinery, traffic and other hazards. Never place a real emergency call as part of a routine drill.

Then ask people to explain and demonstrate their roles within their training.

Who raises the alarm? Who calls 000 in a real emergency? Who brings the kit or AED? Who meets the ambulance? Who keeps the rest of the area safe?

A WA inquest shows why recognising the problem matters

Torran Thomas died after developing heat stroke during rugby training. In the 2019 finding, Coroner King considered both the response and the training available to responders. The Coroner found that training to recognise and treat heat stroke in line with developments in that area may have changed the outcome.^[2]

The workplace lesson is to practise recognising when something is seriously wrong, as well as finding the equipment. A drill should include the decision to seek urgent help.

Read our heat stroke article for the detailed first aid discussion.

Walk the route your equipment will travel

Ask someone to retrieve the first aid kit from where the incident is being simulated. If your site has an AED, check how it would reach the casualty without disrupting its readiness for a real emergency.

Look for practical barriers. Is the door locked? Is equipment behind stored stock? Can a new employee identify it? Is it available on the late shift?

Repeat the exercise with your usual first aider absent. People take leave, work different shifts and leave the site. Your arrangements need to account for that.

Practise the handover

Give the person meeting the ambulance a clear job. They need the correct entrance, any access instructions and a safe route to the casualty.

Ask the responder to explain what happened, what they observed, what care was given and whether the person's condition changed. Use only information relevant to the emergency and protect personal information afterwards.

Finish with one improvement you will make

Ask each participant: “What slowed us down?”

You might need clearer signs, an updated contact list, better shift coverage or practice with unfamiliar equipment. Record the change, give someone responsibility for it and revisit it.

This exercise is a practical planning tool. It does not establish legal compliance or replace training and assessment.

Bring your workplace into the training

Your people know the site. First aid training helps them connect that knowledge with the skills to respond.

Talk to Britt about group training for your team across Perth and regional WA. Start with your workplace risks, existing arrangements and the situations your team wants to practise. Explore REACHAU courses.

Sources

1. WorkSafe WA, Training a first aider: www.worksafe.wa.gov.au
2. Coroners Court of Western Australia, Inquest into the Death of Torran Jake Thomas, delivered 6 February 2019: coronerscourt.wa.gov.au

This article provides general information and is not legal or individual medical advice. Court findings are summarised from the published inquest documents. In an emergency, call 000.