The Health & Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981) imposes a duty on all employers, and the self employed, to provide First Aid facilities for their employees who become ill or are injured while at work.

You must provide: -

A First Aid box or cupboard suitably marked, capable of keeping the contents clean and dry. As for contents there is no standard list of items to put in a first aid box, it depends on what you assess the needs are.

However, as a guide, and where there is no special risk in the workplace, a minimum stock of first aid would be:

A leaflet giving general guidance on first aid e.g. HSE leaflet Basic advice on first aid at work;

• 20 individually wrapped sterile adhesive dressings (assorted sizes);
• two sterile eye pads;
• four individually wrapped triangular bandages (preferable sterile);
• six safety pins
• six medium sized (approximately 18 cm x 12 cm) individually wrapped sterile unmediated wound dressings;
• two large (approximately) 18 cm x 18 cm) sterile individually wrapped unmedicated wound dressings;
• one pair of disposable gloves.

You should not keep tablets or medicines in the first aid box.

The above is a suggested contents list only; equivalent but different items will be considered acceptable.

Where can I get further information?

The free leaflet Basic advice on first aid at work

The Health & Safety Executive publish an "Approved Code of Practice" to the regulations, ISBN 0717610500, which is available from Bookshops or from Health and Safety Executive books