First Aid Kits

In a context where many people share a the use of First Aid Kits (businesses, clubs, etc) it is very easy for kits to end up with things missing when people get lazy or forget to restock items after use. This is particularly the case in high turnover programs (kits in and out every day).

At a previous employer we developed a system that minimised administration, minimised unnecessary  disposal of soiled first aid items (from simple exposure to the elements) and maximised the ability of staff to apply first aid in an effective way. The key lesson was to put different chunks of the first aid kits in to sealed ziploc bags, then if a staff member used the kit in the field:

a) they could easily find the first aid supplies they needed while under stress

b) only a small amount of gear would get wet/dirty/lost

c) if they failed to tell us what they had used we could easily figure out what needed restocking (i.e. only one small ziploc would be opened and we'd know we just need to figure out what was used/missing from that bag and not the whole kit!)

Basically, we had a series of "small kits" inside the big kit.

Instructions: 

• Place all items into an appropriately sized ziploc bag specific to their individual kits

• Wrap around them with bright/fluoro gaffa tape and, with permanent marker, write the kit name and any relevant expiry dates on the tape. (by ensuring that the zip loc bag could not be opened without damaging the ziploc bag or gaffa tape, we were able to tell which "sub kits" had been used, and by writing expiry dates of the 'next to expire' meds on the tape, we knew when we had to go in and replace meds that would be going out of date)

• Additionally ensure that the Asthma kit and Snake Bite kit are at the top of the bag for easy access. 

• Oral meds are popped out of their blister packs, placed in 15mL nalgene bottles with their dosage/strength (milli or micro grams) and expiry on the container before being placed in the correct ziploc bag. (This was critical for our context as blister packs would become compromised, tablets would come loose, and expiry dates would be lost. you should seek advice from a pharmacist before adopting for your context)

• We then put all the items inside a large drybag and sealed the drybag with a small amount of gaffa tape with the date and some initials written on the tape. This way, we would know when the bag was sealed up (and by whom). If this seal was intact then we would know the contents were complete at a glance, but if the seal was broken, then we knew we should check the contents and replace/resupply/fix before sending in to the field again.

For example:

Fire lighting kit (lighter, matches, fire starters)

Paperwork/Admin kit (pen/pencil, waterproof paper, Pocket first aid book, etc)

Miscellaneous (pads, tampons, sanitary disposal bag, paw paw, toilet paper, hair ties, etc)

Oral Meds (Jelly beans, ibuprofen, paracetemol, anithistamines, oral rehydration solution, etc)

Basic wound kit (gloves, betadine, small scissors, alcohol swabs, felt bandaids, strapping tape, blister pad, tweezers, waterproof dressings, 10mL syringe, scalpel blades, etc)

Major wound kit (patient monitoring chart - laminated, gloves, triangular bandages, crepe bandages, compression bandages, non-allergenic dressing tape, emergency blanket/bag, wound closures/steri-strips, alcohol swabs, gauze pads/non-woven combine dressing, hypafix, non-adherent absorbent dressing, etc)

Asthma Kit (Asmol puffer, Spacer, alcohol swabs, face shield, etc)

Snake bite kit (snake bandage)

Extras (inventory list - a laminated sheet with the contents of each sub kit listed in detail, emergency call out sheet - key phone numbers and information to have ready before calling, etc)

N.B. The contents outlined above were developed for a very specific context and the needs will vary depending on your context. (eg the kit above has very few meds for treating longer term issues like diarrhoea, hydration, vomiting, etc)

I cannot stress enough that the driving decision for how we built these kits always came back to what was best for the person in the field. We would imagine a person that was working on their own, in a remote location, with limited communications options, and under high amounts of stress. Our equipment and systems then were designed above all to support that person in looking after the patient and the rest of the group in an incident. Keeping the perspective of 'the purpose of the first aid kit' in focus was (and is) the key.

A few other tips (please seek advice from a pharmacist before adopting for your context):

• Expiry dates for Betadine was deemed to be mostly irrelevant for our context - the effective ingredient doesn't go out of date in a meaningful way. (If you can source iodine you dodge this issue altogether, but betadine dropper bottles are robust and a good size...)

• Expiry dates on dressings in an outdoor context are relatively meaningless. As long as the packaging is intact then the level of sterility of the dressings is fine for the context we operate in (that is, the bush setting will be less sterile than an out of date dressing). 

• Expiry dates on medications that are ingested should be strictly adhered to

• Don't buy emergency blankets. Buy emergency bags - they are far more effective at keeping people warm and dry and can always be cut in to a blanket if required.

See below for a sample of an "emergency call out sheet". (Again, this was specifically created for our context and excludes other information that might normally be included because of other systems that this document was embedded in. Your situation will require different information)

When calling about a patient

• Identify who you are

• Patient full name, age, sex

• Patient injury (and mechanism of injury if needed)

• Is the patient mobile or is assistance required?

• Any ABC (Airway/Breathing/Cardiac) problems

• Location of patient (broad description of your location followed by map reference.) 

• Map reference in the following format: Map name, map scale, Grid reference to 6 digits.

• Action required 

  • We (do/do not) require an urgent evacuation

  • We (do/do not) require a helicopter

• Any extra information that might be required. 

• Confirm all information was received

• Standby for further instruction

(on the reverse side of this card we included the NATO phonetic alphabet to assist with communication)