First Aid Kits & Reporting

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First Aid Kits & Reporting

The Health & Safety (First Aid) Regulations (1981) state that an employer must provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure their employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work.

First Aid Kits

First aid kits should be easily accessible and clearly identified by a white cross on a green background. British Standard BS 8599-1:2019 sets out a guide for the contents of a workplace first aid kit. The size of the first aid kit required is calculated by a combination of the level of risk and the number of employees in the workplace. In addition to workplace first aid kits the British Standard provides advice on contents of travel and motoring kits, catering kits, personal issue kits and critical injury first aid kits. It is important to replace any used items and to check the expiry dates. British Standard workplace first aid kits have the same standard contents and come in a variety of sizes.

Each kit contains:

First Aid guidance leaflet & contents list
Disposable gloves, resuscitation face shield
Assortment of plasters
Burn relief dressing
Medium & large sterile dressings
Eye pad & finger sterile dressings
Triangular bandages
Conforming bandage
Alcohol- free antiseptic cleansing wipes
Foil blanket
Micropore tape
Scissors or shears

In addition, if there is no mains tap water on site, you should have at least 1 litre of sterile water available for eye washing.

The British Standard (BS-8599) kits follow the following recommendations for high-risk settings:

Small kit – for less than 5 people
Medium kit- for 5 – 25 people
Large kit – for over 25 people

The British Standard (BS-8599) kits follow the following recommendations for low-risk settings:

Small kit – for less than 25 people
Medium kit – for 25-100 people
Large kit – for over 100 people

Critical Injury Kits

Specialist first aid kits are available which contain specialist haemostatic wound dressings, tourniquets and equipment to deal with life threatening bleeding incidents. These should be considered to supplement the standard workplace first aid kits where the risk assessment determines there is the likelihood of injuries of this type.

Accident Reporting

Accidents and incidents occurring in the workplace should be recorded. There are several ways to do this – some, or all of the following may be required.

An accident book helps employers keep track of incidents and could help them identify trends that can be addressed via health and safety measures. It is also a legal document and can help all parties if the incident leads to legal action or insurance claims.

Accident books are usually filled in by the first aider but could be completed by the casualty, especially if the incident was relatively minor.

Complete the accident book as soon as you can safely do so, while it is still fresh in your mind. Fill in all the details using pen (or complete electronically).
Personal details must be kept confidential. It should be possible to remove completed records and keep separately in a secure location. A member of staff should be given responsibility for the safekeeping of the records.
The casualty may wish to take a copy of the form before it is handed in.

Accident book templates are available to buy. They should include:

Name, address and occupation of casualty.
Date, time and location of the incident.
A report of what happened and any treatment given.
Details of any injuries.
Name, address, occupation of person completing the report.

It can be helpful for the first aider to complete a separate first aid casualty report form to give details of the first aid administered and any progression of condition while waiting for medical help.

A copy of the form can be given to ambulance or hospital staff so that they have full details of what has happened, your diagnosis and treatment. It can also help you to record any incidents where a casualty has refused treatment that you have advised.

As with the accident book, personal details should be kept confidential so ensure completed forms are kept separate and secure.

RIDDOR

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) is legislation that requires employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises to report certain serious workplace accidents to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) (or HSE NI in Northern Ireland).

These incidents include:

Death
Certain specified injuries (detailed list available on hse.gov.uk/riddor)
Incidents which result in a person being unable to work normal duties for more than seven consecutive days
Occupational diseases
Dangerous occurrences – which are certain, specified near-miss events.

Timescales for reporting are also stipulated in the guidelines available on the HSE website.