Patricia
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost 100,000 people are injured in accidents that take place in restaurants each year.
Some of these people cut themselves with sharp knives or burn themselves on hot cooking equipment. Others slip and fall on floors and sprain joints or break bones.
Safety should be one of your top priorities if you own or help manage a restaurant. You should do everything in your power to prevent your employees and your customers from getting hurt.
But you should also realize accidents will still happen. A restaurant first aid kit can make it a little easier for your restaurant to deal with at least some of them.
Your restaurant should have a fully stocked first aid kit in it. First aid kits can help you treat injured employees and customers right on the scene.
Just be sure these kits have the right first aid contents in them. Here are a handful of the biggest first aid kit requirements.
Bandages
Cuts are some of the most common injuries that occur in restaurants. Those who prepare food will always be at risk of accidentally cutting themselves when they’re slicing and dicing things up.
For this reason, it’d be worth having a big stack of bandages around at all times. A good restaurant first aid kit will have almost every bandage imaginable in it.
Here are just a few of the bandages you should look for in a workplace first aid kit for a restaurant:
- 1″ x 3″ Blue Woven Adhesive Bandages
- Blue Woven Flexible Knuckle Bandages
- Blue Woven Extra-Large Flexible Fingertip Bandages
- Metal Detectable Extra-Long Blue Finger Wrap Bandages
The more bandages you’re able to have on hand at a restaurant, the better off your employees will be.
Gauze
A good bandage should be able to stop even the worst cuts from bleeding. But there will, of course, be times when deep cuts will cause excessive bleeding.
During these times, you’ll want to have gauze around that you can use to cover wounds. It’ll help soak up some blood so it doesn’t get everywhere in your kitchen.
Gauze can also be placed on things like burns to help them heal faster. It’s another excellent reason to keep gauze in your restaurant first aid kit.
Antiseptic and Hydrogen Peroxide Sprays
Before placing bandages or gauze on cuts and other types of injuries, you will want to clean the area. It can help prevent the chances of infections.
When cleaning a cut or another injury, you should use an antiseptic or hydrogen peroxide spray. They can get cuts clean and reduce the risks associated with them.
These sprays should be tucked away in a restaurant first aid kit so they can be found quickly.
Burn Gel
You know the saying, “If you can’t stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen”? That’s not going to apply to your employees. They’ll need to log a lot of long hours in your (hot!) kitchen preparing meals for your patrons.
Unfortunately, this might lead to them experiencing burns every now and then. These burns shouldn’t ever be too bad, but it isn’t uncommon for chefs to end up with burns on their hands, wrists, forearms, and other areas.
Your employees will more than likely need to take a trip to the emergency room to seek medical attention for most burns. But they might also be able to get away with using burn gel from a restaurant first aid kit on them to get the relief they need.
If nothing else, burn gel might help with their pain until they can see a doctor about a burn.
Eye Wash
There are any number of things in a restaurant’s kitchen that can splash your employees in the eyes and do real damage to them. Because of this, your restaurant’s first aid kit should have an eye wash in it that can help people clean their eyes after an accident.
Your employees should also have a general idea of how an eye wash works. It’ll enable them to spring right into action if anything ever gets into their eyes.
Ice Packs
You’re not going to be able to keep actual ice packs in a restaurant first aid kit for obvious reasons. But you will be able to put special packs in them that’ll turn ice-cold when they’re activated.
These ice packs will work wonders in many different situations. For example, a person can put an ice pack on themselves if they slip and fall in your restaurant. They can also put an ice pack on something like a burn to provide it with some relief.
CPR Barrier and First Aid Book With CPR Guidelines
In a perfect world, you won’t ever have to worry about anyone coming even remotely close to needing CPR in your restaurant. But just in case, it’d be a good idea to have both a CPR barrier and a first aid book that has CPR guidelines in it in your first aid kit.
You can pull these things out at a moment’s notice to provide someone with CPR right in your restaurant until medics can arrive.
Invest in a Restaurant First Aid Kit
Is your restaurant operating without a first aid kit right now? You’re playing with fire, both figuratively and literally.
A restaurant first aid kit will be an incredible investment for your restaurant. It’ll provide you and your employees with peace of mind. It’ll also arm you with just about everything you’ll need to respond to an accident involving injuries accordingly.
Search for more helpful tips that’ll benefit your restaurant business by browsing our other blog articles.
