The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require employers to provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure their employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work.
These points apply to all organisations, but how you meet the requirements depends very much on the size of your organisation.
The HSE advises that as a minimum:
A small office, identified through assessment as having low health and safety risks, needs a first-aid box and an appointed person to take responsibility for first-aid arrangements like calling an ambulance.
A larger workplace with bigger health and safety risks is likely to need one or more trained first aiders and better first-aid facilities.
There are no hard-and-fast rules to determine the number you need. The HSE suggests numbers based on the environment and hazard level, and these, along with the case studies mentioned above are good guides:
Low-hazard workplaces (i.e. offices, shops, libraries):
< 25 employees: at least one appointed person
25 to 50 employees: at least one first aider trained in EFAW
> 50 employees: at least one FAW-trained first aider for every 100 employees (or part thereof)
Higher-hazard workplaces (i.e. engineering, food processing, warehouses, construction):
< 5 employees: at least one appointed person
5 to 50 employees: at least one first aider trained in EFAW or FAW (guided by the type of potential injuries)
> 50 employees: at least one FAW-trained first aider for every 50 employees (or part thereof)
If your workplace needs first aiders, then they will need to be trained by a recognised organisation offering courses such as:
First Aid At Work (FAW)
Emergency First Aid At Work (EFAW)
It’s recommended that every first aider has annual refresher training to keep their skills sharp and their knowledge up to date – ideally they’ll have had no cause to use their skills over the year!
Do you require First Aid Training? You Can Do It Training offer QNUK Accredited courses including, First Aid at Work, First Aid at Work Requalifers, Emergency First Aid and Paediatric First Aid.
Feel free to contact us to book a course, or for more information:
01782 438813
hello@youcandoit.training