First-aid needs assessment
The assessment every employer must make of what first-aid equipment, facilities and trained people the workplace needs, based on its hazards, size, location and working patterns.
The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations require adequate and appropriate first-aid provision, and leave "adequate" to the employer's assessment: the nature of the work and its hazards, the number of people, their distribution across sites and shifts, the history of accidents, the distance from emergency services, lone and remote working, and the presence of the public. Construction is a higher-hazard workplace, so the HSE's guidance points to a first-aider (First Aid at Work, three days) rather than an emergency first-aider (one day) for most sites, with enough of them to cover absence and every shift, plus kits sized to the workforce and positioned where the work is, eyewash where there is no mains water, and a way of calling for help from every part of the site.
The assessment is recorded, the first-aiders are named on the site notice board with their locations, kits are checked and restocked on a schedule, and certificates are tracked because they expire after three years. On a site with several contractors, the principal contractor coordinates the provision and each contractor still has to have arrangements for its own people. Mental health first aid is not a substitute for physical first aid but is increasingly included in the assessment.
Where it comes from
- Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 reg.3, and HSE guidance L74.
- Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 reg.30: emergency procedures.
Questions people ask
How many first-aiders does a site need?
The assessment decides. HSE guidance for higher-hazard workplaces suggests at least one First Aid at Work first-aider for every 50 people, with cover for absence and each shift, and more where the site is remote or spread out. A ten-person site still needs one on every shift.
Does the principal contractor cover subcontractors' first aid?
The principal contractor coordinates site arrangements and often provides them, but each employer remains responsible for adequate provision for its own employees. Agree it in writing before the start.
First-aid needs assessment, handled on a phone
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