Working in Construction: What First Aid Provisions do I need?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides important information and guidelines to ensure that construction workers have the required first aid provisions on site. In this guide, we aim to simplify this vital information, providing a step by step approach to help small businesses owners meet their obligations to the HSE.
Understanding Your First Aid Needs:
The first step towards ensuring your business meets the require first aid provisions is to conduct a thorough "First-Aid Needs Assessment." This process helps you to identify the first aid training and equipment that you need in order to meet your worksite's unique demands. While the HSE provides information on their website, we've made it even easier for you with a downloadable template and user guide from First Steps First Aid Ltd. These documents make the process easy to follow and conclude by providing a table to list the provisions required. You can keep this for your records should you ever need to provide evidence to the HSE that a first aid needs assessment has been completed.
Download our First-Aid Needs Assessment Template and User Guide.
Minimum Requirements for Every Site:
The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 outline the minimum requirements for any construction site as below:
A first aid box equipped for the number of workers on site.
An appointed person in charge of first-aid arrangements.
Clearly communicated information about the appointed person or first aider's identity and location, ideally through a notice in the site hut.
Understanding the Appointed Person:
An appointed person oversees first-aid equipment and facilities. Importantly, appointed persons do not require formal first-aid training, their responsibility is to ensure that the site they are responsible for, has an appropriately trained and certified first aid provider and appropriate provisions for the risks identified on that site. That may include a first aid station, eye wash stations, defibrillators. Use the first aid needs assessment above to help identify the risks on your site.
Becoming a Certified First-Aider:
To be recognised as a first-aider, individuals must undergo certified training appropriate to their role. This includes a valid certificate in either first aid at work (FAW) or emergency first aid at work (EFAW) from an approved training organisation. The HSE provides information on how to identify a first aid provider here. First Steps First Aid Ltd use qualified paramedic instructors to deliver recognised first aid courses that are regulated by the First Aid Industry Body. Get in touch and book a course with us. We offer public courses for individuals or can come on site to deliver to groups.
Determining First Aider Numbers:
Our First Aid Needs Assessment will guide you through assessing the requirement of first aiders on your site. As a general rule, the HSE advises the following:
Fewer than 5 people: At least one appointed person.
5–50 people: At least one first-aider trained in EFAW or FAW.
More than 50 people: At least one FAW-trained first-aider for every 50 employees (or part of 50).
Your Role in First Aid Training:
All contractors/trades should assess their work environments. If routinely working on sites with over 5 people, having at least one first aid trained individual is advisable. Not only does this ensure immediate assistance availability, but it also enhances employ-ability for larger site work. First Steps First Aid Ltd offers comprehensive first aid training and helps you to ensure that your staff are safe.
Our paramedic-led training and user-friendly resources make arranging your first aid provisions a simple process. Invest in safety, build a secure work environment and protect yourself from legal proceedings by documenting the process in our “needs assessment template”.
If you have any questions, just get in touch at Info@firststepsfirstaid.co.uk
