Are you ready for this?
We’re now just two months away from September and the introduction of Benedict’s Law.
The law was introduced in 2021 after five-year-old Benedict Blythe sadly died of anaphylaxis at school.
What does Benedict’s Law require?
Benedict’s Law introduces a consistent national framework for allergy safety in schools. Core measures include:
- Whole-school allergy policies setting out how schools manage allergies and respond to emergencies
- Staff training so teachers and school staff can recognise and respond to anaphylaxis
- Access to emergency adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) where needed
- Individual healthcare or allergy action plans for pupils with diagnosed allergies
- Improved communication and record-keeping around allergies and allergic reactions
These measures aim to ensure that every school has the systems in place to respond quickly and effectively to allergic emergencies.
Who does it apply to?
The measures currently apply to schools in England, including:
- State-funded primary and secondary schools
- Academies and free schools
- Special schools and alternative provision settings
- Independent schools
The statutory guidance sets national expectations for how schools support pupils with medical conditions and allergies, while legislation will place key safeguards within the legal framework governing education.
Our Management of Anaphylaxis (RQF) course involves a 3-hour session that covers the practical skills you need to deal with Basic Life Support (BLS) interventions, safely use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and provide anaphylaxis treatment.
If you’d like to discuss on quick no-obligation call, please do get in touch.
Another scorcher
How did you and your team fare in the recent heatwave?
Extreme temperatures can be difficult to contend with, even for those who are fit and healthy.
With high temperatures expected across the summer, it's important that you and your staff can recognise the dangerous effects of heat.
Heat exhaustion
Heat exhaustion does not usually need emergency medical help if you can cool down within 30 minutes. If it turns into heatstroke, it needs to be treated as an emergency.
The symptoms of heat exhaustion include:
- tiredness
- dizziness
- headache
- feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting)
- excessive sweating and skin becoming pale and clammy (a change in skin colour can be harder to see on brown or black skin)
- cramps in the arms, legs and stomach
- a high temperature
- being very thirsty
- feeling irritable
How to respond
- Move them to a cool place.
- Remove all unnecessary clothing like a jacket or socks.
- Give them plenty of water to drink – you can also give them an isotonic sports drink or oral rehydration powder that you mix with water, which will help replace salt lost through sweating.
- Cool their skin. Spray or sponge them with cool water and fan them. Cold packs, wrapped in a cloth and put under the armpits or on the neck are good too.
Heatstroke
The symptoms of heatstroke include:
- a very high temperature
- hot skin without sweating
- fast breathing and a fast heartbeat
- confusion and restlessness seizure (fit)
- loss of consciousness
Heatstroke is a medical emergency, so it’s important to get in touch with emergency services as quickly as possible.
Heat syncope
Symptoms of heat syncope include:
- Fainting (short duration)
- Dizziness
- Light-headedness from standing too long or suddenly rising from a sitting or lying position
Immediately relocate the person to a shaded area, elevate their legs and slowly rehydrate them once they regain consciousness.
Things you can do to cool someone down
If someone has heat exhaustion, follow these four steps:
- Move them to a cool place.
- Remove all unnecessary clothing like a jacket or socks.
- Give them plenty of water to drink – you can also give them an isotonic sports drink or oral rehydration powder that you mix with water, which will help replace salt lost through sweating.
- Cool their skin – spray or sponge them with cool water and fan them. Cold packs, wrapped in a cloth and put under the armpits or on the neck are good too. Stay with them until they’re better.
They should start to cool down and feel better within 30 minutes.
Top tip
To cool your core, run cold water on your wrists.
Making a difference
Back in 2017, Daniel Baird’s life was tragically cut short after he was stabbed in Digbeth, Birmingham.
The Daniel Baird Foundation was set up in his memory, with the aim of making bleed kits more easily accessible and with the intention of preventing similar incidents from being fatal.
Last month, a stabbing occurred in Birmingham city centre, leaving an 18-year-old boy with life-threatening injuries.
Alongside a fantastic medical response, a Daniel Baird Foundation bleed kit was used at the scene and, thankfully, the boy was taken to hospital and remains in a stable condition.
Since the campaign began following Daniel Baird’s death in 2017, more than 30,000 public bleed control kits have been installed across the UK and internationally.
The Foundation has reported in recent years that these kits are being used multiple times every day for incidents including:
- road traffic collisions
- workplace accidents
- industrial injuries
- farming incidents
- falls
- sporting injuries
- knife crime and assaults
Since the introduction of public bleed control kits, they have been deployed thousands of times across the UK.
Based on figures shared by the Daniel Baird Foundation, they are now used on average around four to five times every day, helping people injured in road traffic collisions, workplace accidents, falls and incidents involving violence.
Find out more and ensure you’re prepared for anything – it could save a life.
Progress
Last month, our Director Sacha Quinney was part of a focus group discussion alongside MoRServ and their Director, Chris Dowen.
The group conversation covered Martyn's Law and how emergency procedures could be put in place across Birmingham and Black Country theatres, events venues and everything in between.
It was a highly productive evening and demonstrated everybody's commitment to keeping indoor public spaces safe.
We're here to support you in responding to Martyn's Law. Get in touch today and let's organise a free, no-obligation consultation.
