What Should be in your First Aid Kit?

I'm sure it won't surprise you that stocking your workplace up with first aid equipment is more involved than nipping down to Boots for some TCP and plasters or picking up a standard green first aid kit from Poundland.

In this article we look at the different things you need to consider when deciding what type of first aid kit you need (and how many of them), and how to keep them stocked and up to date.

Start with your Risk Assessment

Like most things when you're managing first aid in the workplace, what you need in your kit is dependent upon the findings of your first aid risk assessment. 

Your risk assessment helps you to analyse the hazards present in your organisation and the risks that are associated with them. It's a good a starting point to help you decide what measures you need to put in place to safeguard your employees, be that equipment, people processes or documentation.

So when doing your risk assessment, you should think about lots of different things that could pose a risk to you, your workforce and your customers and visitors. It's different for all organisations, precisely because as all organisations are different. but you could start by asking some key questions, such as:

Key Risk Assessment Questions

• How many staff do you have?
• Are they spread across multiple sites? How many?
• Do staff work at heights or with heavy weights?
• Do you have dangerous machinery on site?
• And are there any electrical or hazardous material risks that staff may encounter?

I'm not going to cover this in any detail here, as we have a whole separate article on carrying out your first aid risk assessment. If you need more than that, we've produced a number of example risk assessments for different industries that are available as free downloads. You can use those as 'starter-for-10' risk assessment templates.

If you're still unsure, feel free to get in touch and ask a question - we'll be happy to help.

How many first aid kits do you need?

The following gives indicative (minimum) numbers of first aid kits required by different types of businesses, depending upon their numbers of employees.

Please note that these figures assume that employees are working on a single site. Workers split across multiple sites and in separate buildings (and in many cases even across different floors), should be treated as separate workplaces for the purposes of calculating the number of kits required.

First Aid Kit Details

British Standard BS8599-1:2019

Ever since 2011 there has been a new British Standard BS8599 for first aid kits.  In 2014, a BS8599-2 standard was added which describes in-vehicle kits. And in January 2019, a further update, to BS8599-1:2019 was introduced.

The Standard came into place as workplace environments changed and new first aid products were developed. It describes what kit manufacturers should include in all of their standard kits, and therefore should be used as a guideline for the equipment that workplaces should maintain on their premises.

However, it remains up to individual workplaces to determine, based on their environment and risk assessments, what equipment is required for their particular circumstances.

HSE Guidelines

As the HSE themselves state, it is not a mandatory requirement under the Health & Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 to have a kit which complies with the British Standard.  To quote the HSE’s own website:

The decision on what to provide will be influenced by the findings of the first-aid needs assessment.

Employers may wish to refer to British Standard BS 8599-1 which provides further information on the contents of workplace first-aid kits.

Whether using a first-aid kit complying with BS 8599-1 or an alternative kit, the contents should reflect the outcome of the first-aid needs assessment.

Contents of British Standard First Aid Kits

The British Standard Kits come in 4 sizes, small, medium, large and travel. Your risk assessment will help you to decide which size of kit and quantity is suitable for your environment.

Adding Extra Items

Consider keeping additional spare stocks of things such gloves, plasters, safety pins, eye wash and eye bath and other items.

Also, if body fluid spillages are likely to be common, think about how the mess can be cleaned.  Having access to body fluid spillage kits could also be a good idea.

However it is recommended that tablets and other medication are NOT kept in your first aid kits.

Restocking your first aid kits

Ensure that all kits are restocked after use.  There's nothing worse in an emergency than going to get an item out of your first aid kit, only to find that the item is missing.

The kits should be well stocked with clean, in date materials and dressings in them. Please note that dressings do have an expiry date on them after which they should not be used. This is because the manufacturers are unable to guarantee they remain sterile after that date.

Also, be aware of any allergies that staff or visitors may have - in particular latex allergies are common, so stocking up with latex-free gloves may be important.

Where to keep your first aid kits

First Aid kits should be kept in a place where they are easily accessible.  They should also be easily identifiable. The symbol of a white cross on a green background is an internationally recognised symbol for first aid kits.

Ideally they should be located close to facilities with running water to facilitate cleaning of minor wounds etc.

Accident Books & RIDDOR Reporting

Finally, whenever you have used the kit and restocked it, don’t forget to fill in the accident book and any other paperwork your organisation requires.

If the incident or illness is reportable under RIDDOR, make sure you also follow correct procedures to report it.