No first aiders at train station

[Mushroomlady]

An older woman tripped and fell in front of me on the station platform while running for a train today. She was very badly injured. I've been first aid trained for work so was able to help - removed her broken glasses, laid her down on her side, stemmed the bleeding (quite heavy), bandaged her up, shaded her from the sun, talked to her, etc. I asked if any of the station staff were first aiders and the answer was no! There was about 4 of them. I had to shout at them to call an ambulance, but it was another passenger that called as the staff were dithering and seemed quite clueless.

Aibu to be absolutely shocked about this? They are dealing with hundreds of passengers per day. How is it not essential that they have a certified first aider on site at all times?
Should I complain? Assume they would need to log it in accident book?

As I understand it, there is no legal duty to provide first aiders for non-employees.

YABU. No offence but while you were very kind and I’m sure comforted her, the things you did are just common sense and don’t require any “training”. I’m sure had you not been there, the railway staff would have similarly helped her.

YABU, lots of station staff are first aid trained but if none are rota'd on, what do you expect them to do, close the station?

And yes, this ^^

Really? Whenever we run an event at work for the public we have to do a risk assessment and make sure there is a first aider on duty. And we're not dealing with live railway tracks!

Your lucky there was any staff there
train companies are looking to run them with no staff at all in the future

I hope that is the case but it didn't feel like it. I felt very much by myself with it until they found a paramedic on the train who thankfully came to help for a few mins before he had to hop back on the train. The staff were just hovering around and weren't even going to call an ambulance. The woman was in a very bad way, going in and out of consciousness. It was scary.

Discounting the staff essential to the safe departure and arrival of trains even a big station doesn't have that many staff. My local station would have to employ people just to be first aiders because its largely unmanned.

First aiders are usually for staff and official visitors, not members of the public.

PP is right. First aiders only require for staff. If they don't have many staff at each location, they're not required.

The fall could just have easily been in the street and she''d have been just as reliant on a passerby. These things happen.

Obviously I understand unmanned stations aren't going to have first aiders on duty! I just assumed that all station staff would have first aid training. I work in a very safe industry where there are hardly any risks, but most of our staff are first aid trained and we always make sure we have someone with training on duty if we are running public events.

YABU. The FAAW act covers employees, why would they want to administer first aid for a deliberately self-inflicted and avoidable injury? Yes, it should have gone in the accident book.

I imagine the station staff were pissed off frustrated with yet another member of the public who couldn’t be bothered to “waste their precious time” waiting for the next train, and instead ran or tried to stick their arms/belongings into closing doors.

There is something wrong with the public psyche that when they hear the “doors closing, STAND CLEAR” warning, they interpret it as “RUN FORREST RUN”.

There's no staff at all at my local station after lunchtime, in common with many many stations.

Firstly the elderly woman should have been more careful, secondly the staff have absolutely no requirement to provide first aid to passengers.

If someone comes into contact with a live electricity on a railway track, a first aider won't be much use to them!

Regardless of first aid training I at the very least would expect station staff present to at least try and help, come to the passengers aid and to call an ambulance.

I was thinking this too.

This will blow your mind OP but even schools only have to provide first aiders for staff, not pupils!

Of course, you're right. Everyone should have first aid training. The UK is particularly bad at this (although it needs to be renewed regularly, and I don't know if the other countries which do better actually renew the training, eg in Germany you have to do it when learning to drive, but I don't know if there's a requirement to keep it up to date).

Most workplaces aren't required to have a first-aider on site at all - it depends on how dangerous the workplace is, how many staff you have etc.

“Dealing with hundreds of passengers per day” sounds like a very small station! I’m not really that surprised that they don’t have a first aided at all times.

I'm sure they would if the OP hadn't have got there first.

And I don't believe they weren't going to call an ambulance.

Of course yanbu OP. Posters pretending we're all cool with nobody having any duty of care for anyone else. It may we'll be permitted in law but it doesn't make for a decent or humane society.

Ifirc you have to employ 25 or more to legally need a first aider, but it is only a requirement for staff, not the general public.

Raise it to the Station Manager as staff should be trained in basic First Aid

Actually, most businesses don't (by law) require a first aider.

yanbu

plus the very least they could/should do is call an ambulance.

Well you’re not being unreasonable in an ideal world.
In an ideal world there would be the staff avail and the money to pay and train them.
However, it’s not realistic for there to ALWAYS be someone available. I’m quite surprised that in a medium sized public place like that there wasn’t a first aider in the building but sometimes that’s just life!