First Aid
Following a review of the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, the HSE have introduced changes to the qualifications available and the way in which First Aid in the Workplace should be approached. It is an employer’s responsibility to ensure they have sufficient qualified First Aiders to fulfill their First Aid needs at all times. It is also the employer’s responsibility to decide what those First Aid needs are.
In line with the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, employers must ensure that first aid provision is ‘adequate and appropriate in the circumstances’. To fulfil this criterion it is recommended that employers assess their First Aid needs by identifying any specific work hazards and ensuring that sufficient first aid equipment, facilities and personnel are available to deal with the possible consequences of these hazards. This could range from calling for an ambulance to providing assistance to a casualty by administering first aid.
