The First Aid at Work Regulations 1981 state that all employers have a legal duty to make arrangements to ensure staff receive immediate care, if they are taken ill or injured at work. This includes providing an appropriate level of first aid cover should an incident occur. Although the regulations do not oblige you to treat members of the public, if you ignore a first aid situation involving a guest, this could damage your reputation, causing bad publicity, as well as the incident resting heavily on your conscience. Through social media, people can instantly comment on your hotel, so it is common sense to try and help your guests, as well as your staff, by having a First Aider on-site.
Everyday cuts, minor burns, etc. are easily treated by trained first aiders. As a hotel manager, one of the biggest challenges you may find is dealing with serious situations such as heart attacks or cardiac arrests, sick or injured children, and most commonly of all, guests who have drunk excessively. Many hotels do not have access to defibrillators (AEDs) and yet this could save a person’s life in an emergency. Bear in mind that it could take emergency services a long time to get to you, especially if you are in a large building with substantial grounds, or you’re in a rural location. In an emergency, time is critical so always be prepared. Why not consider installing a defibrillator at your premises?
As a rule of thumb there should be one first aider for every: 50 workers in low-risk workplaces (for example, an office) 25 workers in high-risk workplaces (for example, a construction site) 10 workers in remote high-risk workplaces. For guidance on first aid legislation please visit https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l74.htm