HEALTH & SAFETY (FIRST AID) REGULATIONS 1981
Health & Safety (first aid) Regulations 1981 requires employers to provide the correct and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to enable first aid to be given to employees if they become injured or unwell at work. These regulations apply to ALL workplaces, this includes those with 5 or less employees and self-employed.
What is deemed adequate and appropriate will depend on the circumstances of your workplace and you should assess what first aid requirements are a must. Employers are required by law to make an assessment of the risk within the workplace.
The risk assessment itself involves identification of a workplace hazards and risks, the size of the company and any other relevant factors, to determine what first aid equipment, facilities and personnel should be provided. For first aid courses see our list of upcoming courses on our website here
FIRST AIDER
A first aider is a person who has undergone an approved training course in administering first aid at work and has an in date first aid certificate in place with their competency shown.
INFRATEC Training’s First aid at work course are approved by Qualsafe Awards and run regularly.
APPOINTED PERSONNEL
When an employer’s first aid risk assessment identifies that a first aider is not necessary, then the minimum requirement is to appoint a person to take charge when someone is injured or becomes ill, these responsibilities could be to call an ambulance if required.
It is important to understand that an appointed personnel should not attempt to give first aid for which they have not been trained for.
There are no legal requirements for appointed persons to have any approved training in order to carry out their responsibilities but it is strongly encouraged. We currently run a 1 Day course, Emergency First Aid at Work to find out more click here.
NUMBER OF FIRST AID TRAINED STAFF
Below is the suggested number of first aid trained staff:
Low risk for example, Shops and offices etc…
Fewer than 25 employees – at least one appointed person
25-50 employees – at least one trained first aider (for course details visit our site)
More than 50 employees – one additional trained first aider for every 100 employed
High Risk for example, Construction sites, chemical sites machine workshops etc…
Fewer than 5 employees – at least 1 appointed person
5-50 employees – at least trained first aider
More than 50 employees – one additional trained first aider for every 50 employed
FIRST AID KIT
What should a First Aid Kit Contain?
This depends upon the risks identified from the first aid risk assessment, the size of the firs aid kit required depends on the number of employees on site. There is no rule set in place for the contents of the first aid kit, however the HSE guidance is below;
A leaflet giving general guidance on first aid.
Individually wrapped sterile adhesive dressings (assorted sizes).
Sterile eye pads.
Individually wrapped triangular bandages (preferably sterile).
Safety pins.
Medium-sized (approximately 12 cm x 12 cm) individually wrapped sterile un-medicated wound dressings.
Large (approximately 18 cm x 18 cm) sterile individually wrapped un-medicated wound dressings.
Pair of disposable gloves.
You should not keep tablets or medicines in the first aid box.
First Aid courses INFRATEC Training offer
We offer a range of First Aid Courses including;