How Many First Aiders Do I Need?
How many first aiders do I need?
This is a question we get asked all the time, and it is not one that has a straight answer. There are lots of things that help make up the answer.
“The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require you to provide adequate and appropriate first-aid equipment, facilities and people so your employees can be given immediate help if they are injured or taken ill at work.”
This is all great, BUT, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to the number of First Aiders needed.
It entirely depends on your workplace and potential hazards – mind boggling, we know. Don’t worry, if after reading this you’re still non the wiser just give us a call.
Our team are always here to help and support you.
The minimum requirement for any workplace are:
– You must have a suitably stocked first aid kit.
– You need an appointed person to take care of first aid arrangements.
– All of your employees should be provided with information on first-aid arrangements.
As a brief guide, the Health and Safety Executive advises that if your work environment is:
High-risk eg. with chemicals or dangerous machinery, and employs 5-50 people. You should consider having one person trained in Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) or First Aid at Work (FAW). Or, if over 50 employees, one person trained in FAW per 50 people.
Low risk, eg. offices, shops etc. but you employ more than 25 people, you should consider having one person trained in EFAW. Or, if over 50 employees, one person trained in FAW per 100 people.
Risk assessing your workplace…
However, there are loads of different things you need to take into consideration,. The main thing we want to do is make sure you and your staff, and visitors are safe. So, a process to work out what accidents may occur will help us decide how many first aiders you need, and how qualified they need to be.
Our advice is if you are insure the best thing to do is carry out a Risk Assessment of your workplace to determine what you need. If you are completely stressed out by this idea then pick up the phone, give us a call, and we’ll talk you through it. Your workplace is your thing, and first aid is ours!
You can find great advice and help with this on the HSE website, or download their free booklet. You can also download our eBook and join Splat Community, where you can access advice and support, and talk to other people who have been through the same process.
Any questions, just ask!