A study conducted by CS found that the first hour after any serious incident was critical in determining the outcome for an injured worker.

The report identified that due to the remote nature of the Northern coal mining industry, the minimum time to retrieve, stabilise, treat and transfer an injured worker to John Hunter Hospital was 74 minutes.

This highlights the importance and significance of confident, on-the-spot, first-aid administration.

The Australia Resuscitation Council of Australia also urged that miners learn CPR by announcing the survival rate of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Australia was just 9%.

This was in comparison to 56% in Seattle and 37% in London. The difference, it said, was due to the amount of people who are trained to quickly and confidently administer CPR.

Mines Rescue General Manager Paul Healey says: “We find that employees that have been trained in first-aid and other emergency response procedures are typically safer workers. They speak up if they see unsafe situations or behaviours and generally look out for their workmates.

“They also have the confidence to administer first aid quickly and accurately which can make a big difference to the outcome.”

Coal mining is not the only industry that could benefit from further first-aid training.