Are You Prepared For Someone Choking In Your Restaurant?
As the owner of a restaurant you need to be prepared for the event of someone choking. There is a higher risk of this occurring in your time of business because people come here to enjoy great food. If you have ever had a piece of food or a drink go down wrong or get stuck in your throat you can understand how panicked a person really choking will become.
A person who is choking is in jeopardy or not being able to breathe at all. This can result in brain damage due to a lack of oxygen or even death. There is no guarantee that other staff or even other customers will know what to do when someone is choking. Even most parents don’t know what to do for their children in such instances. Time isn’t something you have to waste when someone is choking so make sure you can jump right in to help them.
As the owner of the restaurant you need to take responsibility for such assistance. This isn’t to show off or to be the hero but to help those that came in expecting to just enjoy a great meal and things took a different twist. Since you won’t always be at the restaurant either you need to make sure some of your other staff such as managers are also able to handle these types of situations.
Check around locally and you should be able to find plenty of first aid classes to teach you about it. They may be offered during they day, at night, or on the weekend so you can be sure you will be able to find one that accommodates your schedule. If there is a cost to attend the class it won’t be very much. Generally that cost is only to pay for your book that you get to keep.
It is your responsibility to pay for your staff to attend this type of course. Even though they can use it anywhere, they are getting certified at your request. You also need to pay them wages for the time they spend in the course. Most employees are very willing to take such courses once you explain the importance of it to them.
Not all first aid classes are the same so do some research and get into a good one. It isn’t going to do you much good in a real situation if you weren’t taught the materials effectively. Make sure in addition to learning techniques for adult chocking victims you learn then for children and infants as well. CPR should be covered too because you may have a choking victim that isn’t breathing after you have removed the object that blocked the airway
Look for one that has mannequins that you can practice on as well so you can get a good idea of how the procedures should actually be performed. Small classes are nice too so that everyone gets plenty of one on one training. You should take a refresher course in these techniques every couple of years as well.
Hopefully you will never have to experience someone choking as they are trying to enjoy the food you serve in your restaurant. Yet it is a possible scenario and it is the responsible business owner that is always prepared for anything to happen. As the leader of your restaurant business you can set a very good example for those that work for you by taking the time to be prepared for such needs from your customers.
