HSE cannot tell you what provision you should make for first aid. You, as an employer, are best placed to understand the exact nature of your workplace and decide what you need to provide.

First aid provision must be ‘adequate and appropriate in the circumstances’. This means that you must provide sufficient first aid equipment (first aid kit), facilities and personnel at all times.

In order to decide what provision you need to make you should undertake a first-aid needs assessment. This assessment should consider the circumstances of your workplace, workforce and the hazards and risks that may be present. The findings will help you decide what first-aid arrangements you need to put in place.

In assessing your first-aid needs, you should consider:

• the nature of the work you do
• workplace hazards and risks (including specific hazards requiring special arrangements)
• the nature and size of your workforce
• the work patterns of your staff
• holiday and other absences of those who will be first-aiders and appointed persons
• your organisation’s history of accidents

You may also need to consider:

• the needs of travelling, remote and lone workers
• the distribution of your workforce
• the remoteness of any of your sites from emergency medical services
• whether your employees work on shared or multi-occupancy sites
• first-aid provision for non-employees (eg members of the public).