First Aid Distributions: Before the bell rings for summer: a 15-minute first aid kit check for your school

By the end of Term 4, most school first aid kits have had a long year. Plasters, gloves and cold packs have been used and not always replaced, and sterile items have been quietly ticking towards their expiry dates. A quick check now means every kit is ready on day one of Term 1, and nobody spends late January chasing orders.

Here’s a 15-minute check your first aid coordinator can run before the break:

1. Check expiry dates. Start with sterile dressings, eyewash, saline and burn gel. Anything that expires before the end of Term 1 should be replaced now, not discovered in March.
2. Restock the fast movers. Adhesive dressings, disposable gloves, instant cold packs, non-adherent pads and crepe bandages are usually the first to go. Count what’s left against what each kit should hold.
3. Open every mobile kit. Camp, excursion, sports and yard duty kits get the hardest use and the least attention. Check every bag, not just the sick bay cabinet.
4. Match medical supplies to student plans. Check asthma relievers, spacers and adrenaline autoinjectors against your current asthma and anaphylaxis management plans, and allow for students starting next year.
5. Check your defibrillator. Look at the status indicator and note the expiry dates on the pads and battery. Both are easy to overlook, and neither can be sourced in a hurry.

Ready for summer

Late Term 4 and early Term 1 bring swimming carnivals, camps, outdoor sport and hot days. Heat illness, sunburn, and bites and stings are the summer regulars, so make sure every outdoor and excursion kit has cold packs, burn dressings, sting relief and a compression bandage. Stock up on sunscreen if your sun protection policy allows it.

Do the audit once, not every term

If this checklist sounds familiar, it’s because most schools run it by hand, kit by kit. FAD kits can be managed through KitCheck, our kit management software, which tracks stock levels and expiry dates and flags items before they run out or expire.

Restock before the break

First Aid Distributions is an Australian owned and run supplier based in Bendigo, supplying schools right across the country. Schools receive 15% schools pricing on our first aid range, can order on account with a purchase order, and deal with a team that understands how schools buy.

Order online, email your PO to [email protected], or call our schools team on 03 5443 2239.

03 5443 2239
[email protected]
firstaiddistributions.com.au