How many first aiders should a workplace have? What items should be found in a first-aid box? When is it appropriate for an employer to provide a first-aid room? New advice from the Health and Safety Executive attempts to answer these and other questions…
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a reminder to employers that they must have first-aid arrangements in place in the workplace.



The advice includes vital information on appointing a first-aider and details of how to report workplace-related accidents and incidences of ill health.




The HSE stresses that “as a minimum” employers must have:



• A suitably stocked first-aid box. The HSE advises that the first aid box should contain sterile plasters, sterile eye pads, triangular bandages, safety pins, wound dressings, a pair of disposable gloves and the HSE leaflet on first aid at work



• A first-aid needs assessment



• An appointed person to take charge of first-aid arrangements (even if the first aid needs assessment deems that no first-aiders are necessary you must have an appointed person)



• Information for all employees giving details of first-aid arrangements – who the first aiders and appointed persons are and where the first aid box is will usually be sufficient



First aid rooms and mobile phones



The HSE stresses that where there are large numbers of employees, an employer should consider providing a first-aid room. A first-aid needs assessment, the organisation says, should also determine whether mobile phones need to be issued to employees who “travel a lot, work remotely or work alone”.



How many first aiders should a workplace have?



The HSE advises that in low hazard work environments with less than 25 employees – for instance in offices, shops and libraries – it is sometimes acceptable for only one first aider to be appointed.



The first aider: worker ratio, the HSE believes, should be adjusted in higher-hazard environments such as in places where there is light engineering or assembly work. “At least one trained first-aider for every 50 employed” is the suggested ratio.