First Aid Kits

First Aid Kit Guide

We understand it can be confusing to know whether or not you have sufficient first aid kit supplies for your workplace. There are a lot of different aspects to consider including the size, whether or not you have the correct contents for your environment, or the appropriate number of kits in relation to your site personnel. We have kits designed in line with HSE and British Standards Institution BS8599-1 and BS8599-2 advice, so you can be sure our kits comply fully to the latest health and safety standards. Read on for advice on questions such as “how many first aid kits do I need?" or “what should be in a first aid kit?".

Your minimum requirements for first aid kits in the workplace

The 1981 Health and Safety Regulations require every employer to provide first aid equipment and make sure employees receive attention if they are involved in an accident, get injured or fall ill while at work. They also need to ensure that a full assessment of the working environment is completed. This is a legal requirement. Once you have undertaken this assessment you will have an understanding of the size of first aid kits you need to buy and also the first aid kit contents you will need. When carrying out the first aid needs assessment, the following factors could be relevant in determining your number of first aid boxes and the contents you need within them:

• Specific hazards relating to the type of work and surroundings, for example, in a commercial kitchen, you might need to provide a catering first aid kit. Some of the other common workplace risks that might change the first aid kit requirements are:

1. Chemicals in the environment
2. Elevated likelihood of slips and trips
3. Electricity
4. Vehicles and other machinery
5. Working at height
6. Manual handling

• How the workforce is made up, including age, health conditions and disabilities


• Any history of illnesses and accidents


• Remote workers and staff proximity to emergency services


• Shift work and any other working patterns


• First aid provision for site visitors and any other non-employees


• Size of the organisation and geography/location of each site

For full guidance ensure you read the First Aid at Work document by the HSE.

What should a first aid box contain?

The contents of an emergency medical kit are dependent on the assessment of the working environment. Some industries will benefit from more specialised contents such as burns relief and eye wash products. Medicines and painkillers should NOT be kept in the first aid kit.

A first aid kit is specifically designed to contain all of the equipment to help you treat minor injuries. Below is information on how to use the supplies based on a British Standard first aid kit :

1. Plasters - Use the plasters on all small cuts and grazes

2. Conforming Bandage - This type of bandage is useful to secure dressings in place without causing discomfort to the casualty. It fits perfectly to the contours of the body and can be secured with tape

3. Triangular Bandage - The triangular shape allows the bandage to be used as a sling and can help to dress a difficult area of the body

4. Burn Dressing - When a burn occurs it needs to be cooled down as quickly as possible to stop the skin from scarring. The burn dressing has a gel within it to keep the wound hydrated

5. Eye Pad Dressing - The pad helps to protect the eye area from infection and any foreign objects getting into the wound while the stretch bandage can be used to secure the dressing in place

6. Finger Dressing - Offers more protection than a plaster and it is also the perfect size to fit comfortably onto a wounded finger

7. Wound Dressing - Made from absorbing material to stop blood from dripping as well as protecting the injury from infection

8. Foil Blanket - Helps to keep the casualty warm and dry but is also useful to wrap around a casualty that has gone into shock

9. Disposable Gloves - Essential piece of equipment to reduce the risk of infection between the casualty and the person performing first aid

10. First Aid Guidance Leaflet - For more information read this manual which gives basic first aid advice

11. Microporous Tape - Tape is used to secure a dressing or bandage

12. Resuscitation Face Shield - Allows the first aider to perform CPR on a casualty that has stopped breathing without cross contamination

13. Universal Shears - Used to cut clothes as well as bandages and dressings

14. Cleansing Wipes - Use to clean the wound to help stop infection

Which first aid kit do you need?

For most working environments our British Standard Workplace First Aid Kit is adequate. Watch the video for more information about this kit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40_pcsDZdHk

There are also different types of first aid boxes and bags so make sure you take a look at the categories below as they could be a solution to your specific requirements:

• Travel


• School


• Motoring


• Catering


• Sports

Top 3 First Aid Kits

1. HSE First Aid Kits
2. British Standard First Aid Kits
3. Deluxe First Aid Kits


For better value you can also buy our bundles as well as our First Aid Stations which are ready-made solution which are easily visible and accessible:

Our bundles make first aid easy as they contain all the signage and guidance that you need. They are convenient for you, as you can buy everything at once for a discounted rate. Perfect for new businesses starting out and buying first aid supplies.
A first aid station is ideal for workplaces that do not have a first aid room. They are easy to locate due to their 3D sign and ensure that everything you need is in one place.

First aid kit refills

Restocking your first aid kit is easy. All of our British Standard Compliant kits have an equivalent refill which includes all the supplies you need to replace the original contents. We recommend buying a refill as well as a first aid kit initially, so that you already have back-up stock when items are used, or in the event of contents being taken or lost.

It is the responsibility of the first aider or an appointed person to ensure kits and first aid supplies are replenished. An emergency can happen at any time so it is vital you can treat the casualty as soon as possible with the correct equipment. Without the correct medical supplies the symptoms can become worse and infection could be more likely to occur. To make it easier, we provide a tamper-proof inspection label (shown below) so it can be easily identified if a first aid box or bag has been opened. This will highlight to the person in charge that items have been used.

How often should you replace the contents of a first aid kit?

Although there are no specific rules regarding the regularity of checking and replenishing first aid box contents, it is important that somebody takes responsibility (this could be a first aider or the appointed person). It is crucial to re-stock the inventory after use, and also keep first aid kit refills on site for this purpose.

Many of the first aid box items can perish over time, so check them regularly and ensure any expiry dates on the supplies have not ended.
Check the following:
container for signs of damage
adhesive products to ensure they have not lost their stickiness
metal objects have not rusted
dressings, bandages and plasters for signs of fraying or tears

It is a good idea to keep a first aid box checklist so you know what you need to order in future. Many of our kits are supplied with a tamper evident label, where you can write on an inspection date and easily see if the kit has been used.

Where should you locate first aid kits?

Different sites and buildings operate on different scales and can vary considerably in terms of the layout and intricacy, therefore the location(s) of your emergency medical kits will essentially depend on the risk assessment.

The location should be:
Accessible
Visible
Should be identifiable with a first aid kit sign

Are you ready for the new BS 8599-1:2019 first aid kit standard?

We offer a range of British Standard compliant first aid kits. The national BS 8599 standards are best practice recommendations and are a good reference for deciding what should be in the first aid boxes around your site. They advise on minimum requirements for the kit contents to ensure a more comprehensive range of supplies than the HSE standard first aid kits, this is why many businesses follow the BSI recommendations. They specify contents for small, medium, large and travel first aid kits and recommend numbers for each in the workplace.

As of January 2019, the BS 8599-1 standard was reassessed to consider factors of modern living and as a result of this there were some changes:

The composition of the BS workplace first aid kits has been changed slightly to suit the modern workplace environment:

• Increase in the number of tape rolls for medium and large kits


• The exclusion of safety pins to reduce incidents of needle injuries


• The amount of medium dressings has been reduced and the number of large dressings increased

The travel kit is now called the Travel and Motoring Kit and conforms to the BS 8599-2 standard for motor vehicle kits. This was to avoid confusion between these two kits and this new travel kit contains the same contents as the medium Vehicle First Aid Kit.

Taking into account recent terrorism and other mass casualty incidents a Critical Injury Kit has been introduced

The other new addition is a Personal Issue Kit. This has been designed as an item to be provided to certain employees based on their role, as well as first aiders.