10.1 First Aid Principles & Kit Contents
Key Takeaways
- The three aims of first aid are to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, and promote recovery.
- Scene safety for the rescuer comes first—never become a second casualty.
- Workplace first aid kits contain dressings, bandages, gloves, scissors, saline/eye wash where provided, and related supplies; know contents and report shortages.
- Call emergency services or arrange medevac early when life is threatened, the scene is remote, or your training limit is reached—especially on distant Nigerian oilfield, construction, and marine sites.
- Act only within your training; seek consent when the casualty is conscious and able to respond.
10.1 First Aid Principles & Kit Contents
Domain 6 of the ISPON HSE Level 1 (Basic HSE) Examination—Basic First Aid & CPR Awareness—is typically about 10% of the paper. It does not make you a certified first-aid instructor or replace a full practical First Aid at Work course. It does expect you to know the aims of first aid, put rescuer safety first, recognise a typical workplace first aid kit, decide when to call for professional help, and respect legal and ethical limits on what an untrained or partly trained person may do.
On Nigerian workplaces—construction towers in Lagos and Abuja, fabrication yards in Port Harcourt and Warri, warehouse floors, camp clinics, marine vessels, and remote oil and gas locations—minutes matter. Knowing principles and kit contents turns panic into a structured response until a nurse, doctor, ambulance, or medevac team takes over.
The Three Aims of First Aid
Almost every Basic HSE and workplace first-aid course teaches the same three aims. Memorise them exactly:
| Aim | Plain meaning | Example action |
|---|---|---|
| Preserve life | Keep the casualty alive; protect the airway, breathing, and circulation; stop life-threatening bleeding | Open airway; start CPR if trained and indicated; apply firm direct pressure to severe bleeding |
| Prevent the condition from worsening | Stop further harm from the injury, the environment, or wrong treatment | Move only if essential and safe; cool a burn correctly; immobilise a limb as trained; keep the casualty still after major trauma when possible |
| Promote recovery | Support comfort and healing until professional care continues | Recovery position for an unconscious breathing casualty; keep warm; reassure; hand over a clear history to medical staff |
Exam memory aid: 3 Ps — Preserve life, Prevent worsening, Promote recovery.
Everything you do as a first-aider should map to at least one of these aims. Actions that entertain bystanders, film the casualty, or “try something dramatic” you were never taught do not serve the three aims.
Scene Safety First — Protect the Rescuer
Before you touch any casualty, ask: Is it safe for me?
If you become a second casualty, you double the emergency and remove the only helper. Scene safety is not cowardice; it is professional discipline taught in every modern first-aid system.
| Threat at the scene | Examples on Nigerian sites | Safe first action |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic / moving plant | Roadside work, quarry, haul road, site vehicle path | Stop traffic if trained/authorised; use barriers/spotters; approach from a safe side |
| Electricity | Damaged cable, wet floor near live equipment, overhead lines | Do not touch until power is isolated by a competent person |
| Fire / explosion risk | Fuel spill with ignition sources, gas leak | Evacuate zone; raise fire/gas alarm; only approach if trained and scene is safe |
| Toxic atmosphere / confined space | Tank, vessel, poorly ventilated pit, H₂S area | Do not enter without authorised rescue plan and equipment |
| Collapse / falling objects | Unstable trench, scaffold failure, partially collapsed structure | Stay clear of the danger zone; call specialised rescue |
| Violence or crowd risk | Fight, agitated crowd | Withdraw; call security/police as appropriate |
| Blood / body fluids | Open wounds, vomit | Put on gloves from the kit before contact |
Rule: Make the scene as safe as you reasonably can without becoming a casualty. If you cannot make it safe, stay out, raise the alarm, and wait for trained responders with the right equipment.
Typical Workplace First Aid Kit Contents (Awareness)
Kit contents vary by employer, client, and Nigerian industry standard, but Level 1 candidates should recognise common items and their purposes. Always follow your site’s inventory list; the table below is awareness training, not a legal minimum list for every workplace.
| Item | Typical purpose |
|---|---|
| Disposable gloves (non-latex preferred where available) | Barrier against blood and body fluids |
| Adhesive plasters / dressings (assorted sizes) | Small cuts and abrasions |
| Sterile wound dressings (various sizes) | Cover larger wounds; control bleeding with pressure |
| Bandages (roller / triangular as supplied) | Hold dressings; support; improvised sling if trained |
| Sterile eye pads | Eye injuries (as trained) |
| Saline / sterile water / eye wash (where provided) | Irrigation of eyes or wounds per training |
| Scissors (blunt-tipped first-aid type) | Cut clothing or tape carefully |
| Tweezers | Remove superficial splinters if trained and appropriate |
| Antiseptic wipes (where supplied) | Clean around minor wounds as directed by site procedure |
| Foil blanket / survival blanket | Help prevent heat loss in shock or after trauma |
| Resuscitation face shield / mask (where supplied) | Barrier for rescue breaths if you are trained to give them |
| First aid guidance leaflet / contents list | Reminder of priorities; inventory check |
| Record book / incident forms (site system) | Document treatment and handover |
Kit discipline
| Do | Do not |
|---|---|
| Know where kits are located on your site | Assume “someone else will find it” during an emergency |
| Report missing, expired, or used items | Leave an empty dressing packet and walk away undocumented |
| Keep kits accessible (not locked in a vanished office key) | Block kit cabinets with stacked materials |
| Use gloves before contact with blood | Dig bare hands into a bleeding wound |
| Restock after use via the responsible person | Hide used stock so the next shift has nothing |
Medicines (tablets, injections) are not free-for-all contents of a standard first aid kit for untrained staff. Only give medication if your role, training, and site rules explicitly allow it.
When to Call Emergency Services / Medevac Awareness
Call for professional help early. It is better to stand down an ambulance than to delay one for a deteriorating casualty.
Situations that usually require urgent professional help
- Unresponsive casualty
- Difficulty breathing, choking that is not quickly resolved, or suspected cardiac arrest
- Severe bleeding that is not controlled by simple pressure
- Signs of shock (see section 10.4)
- Chest pain, suspected stroke, severe allergic reaction (where recognised)
- Major burns, chemical burns to eyes, or electrical injury
- Suspected spinal injury, major fractures, crush injury
- Seizures that are prolonged or first-time and unexplained
- Any situation beyond your training or equipment
Remote Nigerian site awareness (oilfield, construction camp, marine, road project)
| Factor | Why it changes the plan |
|---|---|
| Distance to hospital | Hours of road travel may require clinic stabilisation and planned transfer |
| Medevac / air ambulance | Some oil and gas and remote projects have medevac procedures—know the site emergency number and radio channel, not only “call 112 in town” |
| Poor night roads / security | Transfer timing may need supervisor and security coordination |
| Limited on-site clinical staff | Your first aid buys time; do not invent advanced medical procedures |
| Multiple casualties | Prioritise life-threatening problems; call for more help immediately |
Level 1 expectation: Know your site’s emergency contact method (radio, muster, clinic, client emergency line). During induction, learn where the first aid room/kit is and who the designated first-aiders are.
Legal and Ethical Boundaries
| Principle | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Act within training | Do only what you have been taught and authorised to do. ISPON Level 1 theory is awareness; full CPR certification is a separate practical course. |
| Consent | If the casualty is conscious and able, ask permission before treating (“I am a trained first-aider—may I help you?”). |
| Implied consent | If the casualty is unresponsive, it is generally accepted that you may give necessary life-saving first aid they would want. |
| Dignity and privacy | Minimise unnecessary exposure; control bystanders and phones. |
| Handover | Tell medical staff what happened, what you found, and what you did—honestly. |
| Do no further harm | If unsure, prioritise scene safety, emergency call, and simple protective measures rather than experimental treatment. |
You are not expected to diagnose complex disease. You are expected to stay calm, protect yourself, apply basic principles, and escalate.
Nigerian Workplace Scenarios
| Scenario | First principles in action |
|---|---|
| Worker cuts hand on rebar; bleeding controlled with dressing | Preserve life (control bleeding), prevent worsening (clean/cover as trained), promote recovery (elevate if appropriate, send for further care) |
| Casualty collapsed near a live distribution board | Scene safety first—isolate power before touch |
| Remote night injury on a pipeline ROW | Activate site emergency/medevac procedure early; keep casualty warm; do not drive recklessly without a plan |
| Conscious casualty refuses help | Respect refusal if they have capacity; still keep scene safe and offer to call help; document/report per site rules |
Linking First Aid to the Rest of HSE
First aid is recovery in HEMP language: hazards still need elimination and control so incidents are rarer. Kits and trained people are essential, but they do not replace guards, PPE, permits, or safe systems of work. After any serious first-aid event, report and investigate so the underlying unsafe act or condition is fixed.
Exam Focus
Expect questions on the three aims (preserve, prevent worsening, promote recovery), rescuer safety before treatment, typical kit items and purposes, when to call emergency/medevac help, and acting within training with consent. Prefer answers that refuse heroics in unsafe atmospheres and that treat first aid as structured support until professional care arrives.
What are the three standard aims of first aid taught in Basic HSE?
A co-worker is unresponsive beside a damaged electrical panel with a cable still sparking. What is the correct first priority for a Basic HSE first-aider?
Which statement best describes legal and ethical practice for workplace first aid at ISPON HSE Level 1 awareness?