Employers duties with regards to First Aid
An employer shall provide, or ensure that there are provided, such equipment and facilities as are adequate and appropriate in the circumstances for enabling first aid to be rendered to his employees if they are injured or become ill at work.
An employer shall provide a suitable number of persons as is adequate and appropriate in the circumstances for rendering first aid to his employees; a person shall not be suitable unless he has undergone such training and has such qualifications as the Health and Safety Executive may approve for the time being in respect of that case; such additional training as may be appropriate in the circumstances of that case.
An employer should make an assessment of first aid needs appropriate to the circumstances of each workplace. There is no fixed level for the provision of first aid but each employer must assess what facilities and personnel are appropriate.
Employers must consider:
- workplace hazards and risks
- the size of the organisation
- the organisation's history of accidents
- the nature and distribution of the workforce
- the remoteness of the site form emergency medical services
- the needs of travelling, remote and lone workers
- employees working on shared or multi-occupied sites
- annual leave and other absences of first aiders and appointed persons
First aid containers
There should be at least one suitably stocked container on every work site and it should be preferably located close to hand washing facilities. Tablets and medications should not be kept in the container. There is no mandatory list of items that should be included in a first aid container but a normal stock of first aid items (in an environment with no special risk) would normally be:
- a leaflet giving general guidance on first aid
- 20 individually wrapped sterile adhesive dressings (assorted sizes), appropriate to the type of work (e.g. of a detectable type for food handlers)
- two sterile eye pads
- four individually wrapped triangular bandages (preferable sterile)
- six safety pins
- six medium sized individually wrapped sterile unmedicated wound dressings - approximately 12cm x 12cm
- two large sterile individually wrapped unmedicated wound dressings - approximately 18cm x 18cm
- one pair of disposable gloves
A white cross on a green background should identify all first aid containers. The contents of first aid containers should be examined frequently and should be restocked as soon as possible after use.
Numbers of first aid personnel The following suggestions are for guidance only:
| Category of risk | Numbers employed at any location | Suggested number of first-aid personnel |
Lower risk(Shops, offices, libraries) |
Fewer than 50 50-100 More than 100 |
At least one appointed person At least one first aider One additional first aider for every first-aider employed |
Medium Risk(light engineering and assembly work, food processing, warehousing) |
Fewer than 20 20-100 More than 100 |
At least one appointed person At least one first aider for every 50 employed (or part thereof) One additional first aider for every 100 employed |
Higher Risk(most construction sites,slaughterhouse, chemical manufacture, extensive work with dangerous machinery or sharp instruments) |
Fewer than 5 5-50 More than 50 |
Where there are hazards for which additional first-aid skills are necessary At least one appointed person At least one first aider One additional first aider for every 50 employed In addition, at least one first aider trained in the specific emergency action |
Records
It is good practice for employers to provide first aiders and appointed persons with a book in which to record incidents which require their attendance. In the case of multiple first aiders being in attendance at a site one central book should be used. The information to be entered should be:
- date, time and place of incident
- name and job of the injured or ill person
- details of the injury, illness and what first aid was given
- what happened to the person immediately afterwards (for example went home, went back to work, went to hospital)
- name and signature of the first aider or person dealing with the incident
Further reading: First Aid at Work The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 Approved Code of Practice and Guidance (L74)
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