Public premises and events are strongly encouraged by ProtectUK and the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) to provide Public Access Trauma (PaCT) kits. Furthermore, 'Martyn’s Law' is a draft bill being pursued by government, which would mandate any public premises or event with a capacity of over 100 to consider the risks arising from a terrorist attack and have plans in place to mitigate physical harm in the event of one occurring.
First Aid Buying Guide
Overview of First Aid Obligations for Businesses
In the UK, businesses are legally obligated to provide adequate first aid equipment, facilities, and trained personnel to ensure that employees receive immediate assistance if they are injured or become ill at work, this must be readily available and accessible at all times people are at work.
The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 outline these requirements, ensuring that all workplaces are prepared to handle medical emergencies effectively.
The latest figures from the HSE show that 135 workers were killed in work-related accidents last year, while 561,000 workers sustained a self-reported non-fatal injury in the workplace during the same period.
Non-compliance with first aid regulations in the UK can lead to substantial fines, potentially up to £5,000 for minor breaches and unlimited fines for serious ones. Prosecution of responsible individuals can result in criminal charges and imprisonment, especially if non-compliance causes serious injury or death. Additionally, businesses may face compensation claims from injured employees and suffer reputational damage, leading to loss of business and trust. Ensuring compliance promotes a safer workplace and helps avoid these severe penalties.
Document L74 provides detailed guidance on complying with the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981. It expands on the legal requirements and offers practical advice on implementing effective first aid arrangements in the workplace. Key points include:
Risk Assessment Guidance
L74 outlines how to conduct a thorough risk assessment to determine the specific first aid needs of a workplace, considering factors like the type of work, workplace hazards, size and location of the workplace, and the number of employees.
First Aid Personnel
The document provides criteria for determining the number of first aiders or appointed persons required, based on the outcome of the risk assessment. It also details the training standards for first aiders.
First Aid Kits and Equipment
L74 lists the recommended contents of first aid kits for various workplace environments and advises on additional equipment that may be necessary for specific risks.
First Aid Rooms
For larger or higher-risk workplaces, the guidance recommends establishing a dedicated first aid room and provides specifications for its setup and maintenance.
Record Keeping and Review
Employers are advised to keep records of all first aid incidents and regularly review their first aid provisions to ensure they remain adequate and effective.
By following the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 and the guidance in document L74, employers can ensure they provide appropriate first aid measures, comply with legal requirements, and maintain a safe working environment for their employees.
There is also additional first aid guidance for public and private premises available on ProtectUK and NaCTSO, specifically in relation to first aid preparedness and resilience in the event of a major incident.
First Aid Risk Assessment
Conducting a first aid risk assessment is a crucial step for businesses to determine their specific first aid requirements. This assessment helps identify the potential risks and the level of first aid provision needed.
Key steps in the first aid risk assessment include:
Evaluating Workplace Hazards
Identify potential hazards that could cause injuries or illnesses, such as machinery, chemicals, and manual handling tasks.
Assessing the Workforce
Consider the number of employees, their specific roles, and any particular health needs they may have.
Considering Past Incidents
Review previous accidents and incidents to identify trends and areas of concern.
Determining First Aid Requirements
Based on the findings, determine the number and type of first aid kits, the need for additional or specialized first aid equipment such as bleed control, eyewash, burns, and the level of first aid training required for staff.
Additionally, in assessing their needs, employers should consider:
- the nature of the work and workplace hazards and risks
- the nature of the workforce
- the needs of travelling, remote and lone workers
- work patterns
- the distribution of the workforce
- the remoteness of the site from emergency medical services
- employees working on shared or multi-occupied sites
- annual leave and other absences of first-aiders and appointed persons
- any first-aid provision intended for non-employees
First Aid Rooms
The need for a dedicated first aid room in a premises is determined by the specific regulations and guidelines set out in the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 and the associated guidance provided in document L74.
First Aid rooms are required in the following circumstances:
High-Risk Environments
Workplaces with significant hazards, such as those involving dangerous machinery, hazardous substances, or high-risk activities, may require a dedicated first aid room to ensure immediate and effective treatment of injuries.
Large Workforces
Premises with a large number of employees are more likely to need a first aid room to accommodate the potential frequency and severity of incidents.
Complex Work Sites
Sites with complex layouts or those spread over a large area may benefit from a first aid room to provide a central, easily accessible location for medical treatment.
Specific Health Needs
If employees have particular health needs that require more substantial first aid facilities, a dedicated room may be necessary to provide appropriate care.
Requirements for a First Aid Room
If a first aid room is deemed necessary, it should meet the following criteria as outlined in document L74:
Accessibility
The room should be easily accessible to stretchers and those with mobility issues.
Facilities
It should include a couch or bed, a sink with hot and cold running water, and necessary first aid equipment and supplies.
Hygiene
The room must be well-lit, ventilated, and maintained in a clean and orderly condition.
Privacy
Provision for privacy, such as screens or curtains, is essential to ensure dignity and confidentiality for the casualty.
Communication
The room should have a means of communication to summon additional help if needed.
As with all first aid facilities – it should be clearly signposted, easy to locate and access.
First Aid Kits & Refills
First aid kits should be clearly marked, visible, easily accessible and contain appropriate supplies based on the workplace's specific needs following a risk assessment.
Key points include:
Maintenance
First aid kits should be regularly checked to ensure they are fully stocked and all items are within their expiry dates, particularly sterile ones. It is recommended that sufficient back-up supplies are always held on site to ensure continuity of provisions.
Location
Kits should be placed where they are easily accessible, such as in communal areas, near workstations, and in vehicles if employees are mobile. They must be clearly visible and signposted with a ‘first aid kit’ sign nearby.
Contents & Size
Depending on the outcome of a risk assessment, contents may need to comply with BS 8599-1:2019, which provides guidelines for different sizes of first aid kits (small, medium, large, and travel), in order to be sufficient. Basic items typically include adhesive plasters, sterile dressings, triangular bandages, safety pins, disposable gloves, antiseptic wipes, adhesive tape, scissors, and a resuscitation face shield – as stipulated in the HSE’s L74 document.
Specialized Equipment & Types Of Kit
Depending on the workplace risks, additional items such as burn dressings, eyewash solutions, bleed control products, and Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) may be necessary.
All first aid supplies should be compliant with relevant safety standards and carry the appropriate CE or UKCA markings, which ours do.
1. Maintenance
An appointed person or trained first aider should be responsible for maintaining the kits.
Key aspects to check in a first aid kit include ensuring the container is free from damage, verifying adhesive items have not lost their stickiness, inspecting metal objects for rust, and examining dressings, bandages, and plasters for any signs of fraying or tears. Regularly checking these components ensures that the first aid supplies remain in good condition and effective in an emergency.
2. Location
Employers must inform all employees about the location of first aid kits and the names of first aiders or appointed persons, ideally using compliant signage.
First aid kits can be mounted on the wall, placed on a countertop, or stored in a cabinet. Installing clearly visible first aid stations nearby can also make the kits easier to locate.
However, when wall-mounting a first aid kit, consider that it may be challenging to bring the equipment to an immobile casualty quickly. Therefore, it might be necessary to position additional kits throughout the area to ensure equipment is easily accessible to all.
Additionally, consider the surrounding work activities or equipment when choosing a location for your first aid kits. Avoid placing them in areas with high temperatures or where work activities produce debris, as these conditions could compromise the integrity of the kits and their contents.
Staff responsible for first aid must receive appropriate training to ensure they can use the equipment effectively.
3. Contents & Size
The number of kits as well as the nature and amount of contents must reflect the risks identified during a first aid risk assessment.
Within official HSE guidance, there is a minimum contents list for low-risk activities (for example, desk-based work), a minimum first aid kit might contain:
- a leaflet with general guidance on first aid (for example, HSE's leaflet Basic advice on first aid at work
- individually wrapped sterile plasters of assorted sizes
- sterile eye pads
- individually wrapped triangular bandages, preferably sterile
- safety pins
- large and medium-sized sterile, individually wrapped, unmedicated wound dressings
- disposable gloves
BS-8599-1 is the British Standard to specify the contents of First Aid Kits in the workplace, which is more extensive than the above minimum list.
Kits do not need to comply to BS-8599 by law, however the standard has specifically been developed as part of a modern approach to what is considered to be a suitable range of products in the workplace of today.
Factors such as new technologies in product development, different types of injury & risk, alterations to training protocols as well as an increased awareness of infection control have resulted in the basic content list above no longer being suitable for a typical modern workplace.
This standard will bring workplace first aid kits in line with other safety products such as hard hats and fire extinguishers.
Once a British Standard exists, if an employer chooses not to follow it, and then an employee has an accident, then the employer's legal defence would be very weak in any negligence claim.
For example; a formal risk assessment of any modern workplace would identify the risk of scalding from a boiling kettle, yet kits with only minimum contents do not contain burns dressings which are proven to reduce pain, scarring and infection complications an employer will now be liable for if they have failed to provide sufficient first aid supplies for treatment.
The old and more primitive 'HSE' system specified the correct choice of first aid kit based on the number of employees it needed to cover. This approach, however, did not take into consideration the level of risk present in a workplace. Use the table below as a guide to choosing your size of BS-8599-1 compliant first aid kit. The table below can be used as a guide to find the right sized of first aid kit for you:
4. Types Of First Aid Kit
We offer over 100 different types of first aid kits to meet different standards and to provide a convenient solution for a range of needs, from basic first aid for the home, to enhanced first aid for high-risk environments where hazards could cause major injury.
School First Aid Kits
Contain contents modified especially for treating children from nursery age, up to secondary school, including kits for day trips, playgrounds and P.E lessons.
Vehicle First Aid Kits
Employers are generally required to provide vehicle first aid kits for employees who use company vehicles as part of their work duties. This requirement is part of ensuring adequate first aid provision and compliance with health and safety regulations.
Travel & Lone Worker First Aid Kits
Designed specifically to be kept on one’s person, the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 stipulate that adequate and appropriate first aid equipment and facilities must be available to all employees, including those who work alone.
Bleed Control First Aid Kits
Feature a selection of products to treat critical bleed injuries and are available with a range of contents and in a variety of containers to suit every requirement depending on risks present, such as machinery.
Public Access Trauma Kits
Official bodies recommend that all public and private sector organisations or events have PAcT kits on site, ready to use and clearly signposted to provide lifesaving resources for on-site personnel and the public alike.
Eyewash Kits
Higher risk environments, or any environment where there is a risk of eye injury, should have a dedicated eyewash kits containing saline solution and dressings.
Sports First Aid Kits
Kits specifically developed for Football, Hockey and Rugby as well as General First Aid and Hot & Cold Therapy kits, for treating common sports injuries like sprains and strains, as well as providing additional support to existing injuries.
First Aid Bags & Boxes
We offer over 50 different types of bags and boxes suitable for housing first aid supplies. Empty bags and boxes offer a neat solution for building your own first aid kits.
Our range includes:
Soft Cases
Manufactured from durable soft materials, ideal for fitting into small spaces and keeping on ones person for rapid access to supplies. Many are also waterproof.
Response & Grab Bags
Reinforced soft cases for housing larger kits where a fast response is needed, such as pitchside or during major incidents.
Rucksacks
Ideal for taking on day trips and keeping hands free whilst having first aid readily available.
Standard Cases
Manufactured from robust plastic, with compartments to help divide up supplies.
Deluxe Cases
Manufactured from extra tough ABS plastic, ideal for hardwearing environments like warehouses, workshops, engineering and manufacturing.
First Aid Stations & Points
Our extensive range of first aid stations and points enable workplaces to offer a central point for first aid supplies and accessories, which not only visibly demonstrates a commitment to meeting health and safety obligations, but reassures and protects everyone on site.
Our range includes:
Individual First Aid Points
These brightly coloured wall points correspond to the type of supplies they provide and are ideal for combining several into one central point. An elegant solution to wall mounting supplies whilst also ensuring they are visible and accessible – as per HSE first aid obligations.
First Aid Stations
These larger stations combine essential first aid supplies with additional products such as eyewash and accident books, as well as guidance on first aid procedures. Also an effective solution to wall mounting supplies whilst also ensuring they are visible and accessible.
Emergency Care Stations
Create an easy to identify focal point for your emergency kits in your workplace and combine multiple first aid points into a consolidated station.
Glow In The Dark First Aid Points
We also offer a range of best selling first aid kits, stations and points made from highly visible Glow In The Dark materials.
First Aid must legally be clearly marked, visible and accessible at all times, including for incidents that may be at night or involve a loss of power, both of which are common. Most first aid kits would not be able to be easily located in such instances, but our Glow In The Dark first aid products are made using Class B photoluminescent materials – the same kind that photoluminescent emergency signs are made from, to show that you have considered this and gone further to meet your first aid obligations and protect those on site. This extra protection represents a minimal additional investment but could prove critical if there is an onsite incident in low light and time is of the essence to treat any casualties.
Enhancing First Aid
Basic first aid provision is a legal requirement and is common among organisations. However, enhanced first aid provision and preparedness is also strongly recommended by several official bodies in everyday settings:
Public premises and events
Workplaces or sites with any hazards
Workplaces or sites with any hazards such as machinery, sharp or moving objects which have potential to cause critical injuries such as major bleeding must have 'adequate and appropriate’ first aid for any risks present. Alongside other health and safety measures, this may be achieved by adding bleed control products to existing first aid provisions, or adding Workplace Critical Injury Packs compliant to BS8599-1.
ProtectUK recommend that "organisations should undertake an assessment to determine if the current first aid kit, such as workplace first aid kits, are adequate for the treatment of immediate life-threatening injuries". Additionally, the Health and Safety Executive state that risk assessments must "consider the circumstances of your workplace, workforce and the hazards and risks that may be present."
It is recommended that consideration should be given to:
- do they support the treatment of those with major bleeding?
- do they support those who are not breathing as a result of unconsciousness or an obstructed airway, typically after a head injury or cardiac arrest?
- are they able to help more than one injured person?
Additional supplies to supplement basic first aid provision may include:
- Public Access Trauma Kits (PAcT)
- Products or Kits to treat major bleeding, such as Tourniquets, Trauma/Pressure Dressings, Wound Packing, Haemostatic Dressings and Granules
- Casualty Stretchers and Evacuation Products
- Resuscitation Products such as guedal airways
- Defibrillators
- Additional items to treat and manage shock
Whether the risk being considered is a terrorist/public attack or a serious accident on site – major bleed injuries are often a fatal consequence. However, they can be treated with readily available and affordable equipment, which can be used with minimal or no training. The sooner a person with life threatening injuries receives appropriate first aid and treatment, the greater their chances of survival.
Basic first aid provisions such as an HSE or BS8599-1 compliant first aid kit do not have any items to treat major bleeding, yet thousands of UK workplaces and sites will have machinery or equipment which could cause a critical injury in the event of an accident or malfunction.
Traumatic injuries such as major bleeds can result in death in minutes, but having provisions to stop severe bleeding readily available and easy to access can be vital in keeping casualties alive until professional services are able to help – this is known as the care gap.
