What Should be in a Workplace First Aid Kit?
UK law requires all workplaces to stock first aid kits to keep their employees safe. Workplace injuries can seriously impact your workforce’s health, and failing to comply with first aid requirements can result in legal action. Preparing for the worst is essential. We cover everything that should be in your workplace first aid kit contents list, how to comply with storage regulations, and how to make sure your workplace first aid kit is maintained and kept safely stocked up in case of an emergency.
Workplace First Aid Kit Basic Essentials
Our workplace first aid kit is compliant with British Standards and contains all the essentials that your business needs to keep your employees safe in the eye of the law. We cover the legal requirements of workplace first aid kit contents and how many kits to install in our blog. This popular workplace first aid kit comes in three sizes, so you can choose the right one to meet the needs highlighted in your business’s health and safety risk assessment
Every business will have unique risks and hazards that will determine the necessary additional contents, sizes and number of workplace first aid kits required by law. In line with British Standards, your workplace first aid kit checklist must include the following products to ensure employees are equipped to respond to a first aid emergency as soon as possible.
- First Aid Emergency Leaflet — provides clear first aid guidance and instructions on how to treat the most common injuries
- Microporous Tape — secures bandages, dressings and splints in place quickly with non-irritant tape that adheres easily to skin or material.
- Conforming Bandages — a lightweight high-stretch bandage to hold dressings over wounds safely and comfortably.
- Triangular bandages — suitable for securing a splint in place or used as an arm sling.
- Burn dressings — quick soothing relief and heat dissipation to treat burns or scalds.
- Wound dressings in various sizes — cover and protect a wound area, absorb blood, and shield open skin from contamination.
- Blunt-ended scissors — accurate and safe cutting of clothing, bandages, tape, and dressings with reduced risk of puncturing the victim’s skin.
- A foil blanket protects the victim from external weather and effectively reduces and treats shock symptoms.
- Medical-grade gloves — protect the first aider and victim from cross-contamination when treating a wound area.
- Washproof plasters are easy to apply and form a protective barrier over broken skin.
- A resuscitation face shield — protects the first aider from cross-contamination when administering CPR to an unconscious victim.
- Sterile cleansing wipes — easily clean a wound area while protecting it from infection.
- A wall bracket — secure your workplace first aid kit in a visible, easy-to-reach place where it can be accessed quickly.
The first aid kit contents list for workplace health and safety compliance above has been determined by British Standards to suit the majority of workplaces’ needs with regards to first aid provision. However, additional workplace first aid kits may be more suited to your business’s specific needs in line with a risk assessment.
You will have noticed that no tablets or medication are required in a workplace first aid kit contents list. The HSE states:
“First aid at work does not include giving tablets or medicines to treat illness. The only exception to this is where aspirin is used when giving first aid to a casualty with a suspected heart attack, in accordance with currently accepted first-aid practice.”
So, unless a qualified first aider is present and treating a casualty with a suspected heart attack, medication, including aspirin in workplace first aid kits is not required.
Our other British Standard Workplace First Aid Kits include:
Our Other Specialist First Aid Kits Suitable for the Workplace include:
- Eyecare Kit
- Burn Care Kit
- Childcare First Aid Kit
- Sports Medical First Aid Kit
- Taxi and PSV First Aid Kit
- Animal First Aid Kit
- 40 Piece First Aid Kit
- 70 Piece First Aid Kit
For businesses with a low risk of injury or accident, such as offices and retail premises, looking for low-cost options, take a look at our HSE range. Our HSE first aid kits are made to the specifications of the Health and Safety Executive for the minimum requirements of a first aid kit
For more information on our specialist first aid kits, and why your workplace might need one, check out our blog:
- How a Lone Worker First Aid Kit Could Save a Life
- What Should be in a Burns First Aid Kit?
- How to Use a Burns First Aid Kit
- The Essential Small First Aid Kit Contents List
- What Should be in a Burns First Aid Kit?
- How to Use a Burns First Aid Kit
- A Comprehensive Paediatric First Aid Kit Contents List
- What Goes in a Kitchen First Aid Kit?
Workplace First Aid Kit Checklist
Use our workplace first aid kit contents checklist to make sure your business has everything it needs ready for an accident or emergency:
You can print this workplace first aid kit monthly checklist template out and use it repeatedly to stay on top of your first aid provisions with ease.
What to Keep Your Workplace First Aid Kit In
Now you understand what should be in a first aid kit for workplace health and safety compliance, it is just as important to store these contents safely in a clearly labelled, secure and dust-free bag, container or receptacle. HSE workplace first aid guidelines state that all workplace first aid equipment must:
- “Be suitably stocked and properly identified first-aid container.”
- “Be protected from dust and damp.”
- “Be identified by a white cross on a green background.”
If you work in sports and your workplace first aid kit is primarily for treating sports injuries, and you need a replacement sports first aid kit container, our Sports First Aid Bag is the perfect product to replace a damaged container and make sure you’re compliant with HSE regulations.
Maintaining the contents of a Workplace First Aid Kit
Now you know the answer to the question — what should a workplace first aid kit contain? — it is also essential that you regularly check through all workplace first aid kits and maintain their contents in line with British legislation. The HSE states that:
“The contents of first-aid containers should be examined frequently and restocked soon after use. Sufficient supplies should be held in stock on site. Care should be taken to dispose of items safely once they reach their expiry date.”
As an employer, the easiest way to maintain the contents of a workplace first aid kit is to assign a first aider who will regularly go through a monthly first aid kit checklist in the workplace. This way, they can make sure all items are in date, aren’t running low, and are safely stored, allowing for visibility and easy access.
Now you know the answer to the question — what should a workplace first aid kit contain? — it is also essential that you regularly check through all workplace first aid kits and maintain their contents in line with British legislation. The HSE states that:
“The contents of first-aid containers should be examined frequently and restocked soon after use. Sufficient supplies should be held in stock on site. Care should be taken to dispose of items safely once they reach their expiry date.”
As an employer, the easiest way to maintain the contents of a workplace first aid kit is to assign a first aider who will regularly go through a monthly first aid kit checklist in the workplace. This way, they can make sure all items are in date, aren’t running low, and are safely stored, allowing for visibility and easy access.
Replacing and refilling your Workplace First Aid Kit
Steroplast supplies UK emergency services, organisations, and businesses with our comprehensive range of first aid kits. Should you need to replace your workplace first aid kit or increase the size or quantity of kits available to your staff, Steroplast can easily meet all your health and safety needs.
To increase signage, visibility, and communication around first aid in your workplace, it might be worth purchasing our first aid kit station to support the information supplied in your workplace first aid kit. Additional signage can help to remind First Aiders of the precautions they need to take when administering first aid safely in the workplace.
If you have completed a workplace first aid kit contents checklist and have found that you are running low on certain individual items, you can top up your first aid kit supplies on our First Aid Products page.
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