What is the Role of the Three Ps of First Aid in the Workplace?

First aid is essential to workplace safety and prevents injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. As accidents can occur anytime, it is necessary to have measures in place to provide immediate care and prevent future incidents. The key elements of first aid in the workplace are known as the three P’s, and it is essential to understand the role of the three Ps of first aid in the workplace.  

In this blog, we will explain the part of three Ps of first aid in the workplace and how they can help promote a safe and healthy workplace environment. The three Ps of first aid are; Preserve, Prevent, and Promote. All these P together plays a vital role in maintaining healthcare in a workplace environment.

Preserve: The First P of First Aid.

Role

Preserve is vital in providing initial care to an injured or ill person. The main goal of the first P is to preserve life and prevent further harm to the injured or diseased person. It also plays a role in ensuring the safety and well-being of employees. For effective use of the first P, employers must have trained responders who can immediately assist the injured or ill person until professionals arrive.

Steps involved

The responders must follow a specific series of steps to ensure the injured or ill receive the necessary care. These steps involved are:

• Assessing the situation: The first step is to determine the condition and ensure the scene is safe for both the responder and the person injured or ill. Ensuring that there are no further hazards that can cause more harm.
• Provide essential life support: The next step is basic life support, like checking the victim’s pulse and checking the need for performing CPR. In a bad-case scenario, if a victim is not responding, it is a must to provide CPR. Thus, in these situations, basic life supports come in useful.
• Control bleeding: Responder should check for possible bleeding in the victim. If bleeding, the responder needs to control it by applying direct pressure to the wound and elevating the affected body part. 
• Immobilizing injuries: If the person has injured related to fractures or dislocation, the responder should immobilize the injury using appropriate tools and prevent further damage to the affected area.
• Administer basic first aid: This step includes providing medications for pain relief or applying ice to the victims affected and reducing swelling and further pain.

Prevent: The Second P of First Aid

Role

The primary goal of prevention is to prevent accidents and illnesses from occurring in the first place. Playing a critical role in reducing the risk of workplace injuries and conditions, employers are responsible for providing a safe workplace to their employees and visitors.

Steps involved

The prevention element of first aid involves several steps that need to be followed by the firm to decrease the risk of incidents and injuries in the workplace. These steps are as follows:

• Identifying hazards: The first step is identifying possible workplace threats. Employers can perform this through regular safety inspections, employee feedback, and incident reports.
• Implying safety measures: After identifying the hazards, the next step is to cut or reduce the risk of accidents or injuries by implementing measures.
• Responding to incidents: Despite the first and second steps, injuries in the workplace can still occur. Thus, it is crucial to have a proper plan to respond to incidents.
• Continual improvement: Reviewing and improving the safety measures to ensure they reduce the risk of accidents and injuries. Providing workers with on-site and online training sessions like a  first aid at work course offers vital information related to properly handling first aid at work. It helps employees be thoroughly aware of proper lifting techniques, ergonomics, and safety procedures. By doing so, employees can also understand the potential risk in their jobs and how to avoid them.

Promote The third P of first aid.

Role

Promote is the third and final P in the three Ps of first aid. It focuses on promoting employees’ overall health and well-being in the workplace. The primary goal involves promoting the prevention of future incidents and injuries by encouraging healthy behavior and practices.

Steps involved

The promote element of first aid involves several steps that can help promote a healthy work environment. These steps include:

• Provision of health and wellness programs: Offering health and wellness programs like health assessments, wellness coaching, nutrition counseling, and fitness classes results in a positive impact on the employees’ physical and mental health and overall well-being.
• Provision of resources for healthy living: These resources include things like healthy snacks in the break room, access to fitness equipment, and providing resources for stress management.
• Encouraging open communication: Employees should feel comfortable discussing their health and safety concerns. Workers feeling heard and supported will likely promote their health and safety.

Example of three Ps in a working scenario:

Offering health and well-being programs to construction workers and encouraging open communication reduces stress.

For example, in a scenario of a worker on a construction site falling from a high level and injuring themselves; providing them with essential life support in an emergency would be the first step. After the incident, it is necessary to identify the cause and take steps to prevent similar accidents in the future.

Benefits of the three Ps in a workplace:

• Improved safety
• Increased productivity.
• Reduced absenteeism
• Higher morale
• Compliance with regulations

Conclusion

Using the three P’s is essential in ensuring the safety and well-being of employees in the workplace. Employers can create a workplace that is productive, caring, and supportive of their employees by prioritizing employee health and safety. Employers can create a safety culture and promote employee health and well-being by implementing these three elements of first aid; which results in benefits, increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, etc.