All employers are legally required to provide adequate and appropriate first-aid equipment, facilities, and an adequate number of trained and qualified staff to give first aid. NB. Hospitals are not exempt.

Suffolk HealthCare has been negotiating a first aid policy with NHS central services for some time. It is still unclear how many first-aiders there are as a definite audit has not been established despite requests form UNISON and Risk Management. The final draft policy on first aid is now completed after several months and despite requests and promises, many areas throughout the county are still awaiting equipment, support and or submission of first-aiders for training. Payment to first-aiders has been refused which we believe to be totally outrageous, out dated and very disappointing. This subject will continue to be brought up at every possible opportunity until a resolve is sought. See here for details of standard payments

First-aid at Work July 2003

About 1 million workplace accidents take place every year. People can also fall ill at work. When employees are injured or become ill at work, it is important that they receive immediate attention and that an ambulance is called for the more serious cases.

Employers are legally required to provide adequate and appropriate first-aid equipment and facilities, and an adequate number of trained and qualified staff to give first-aid to ill or injured employees at work. Information must be given to all workers about the provision of first-aid, and the location of first-aid equipment, facilities, and personnel (The Health and Safety (First-aid) Regulations 1981).

What is adequate and appropriate will depend on the workplace. The minimum first-aid provision for any work site is:

• a clearly identified and suitably stocked first-aid box,

• an appointed person to look after the first-aid arrangements in the workplace, and

• information for employees on first-aid arrangements.

   

RISK ASSESSMENT

To determine what are adequate and appropriate first-aid requirements for a workplace, the employer must carry out a risk assessment. This should consider:

• the workplace hazards and risks of injury and ill health, including:

• any specific hazards such as dangerous substances, tools, machinery or objects, and

• areas where there are additional risks such as a kitchen or cafeteria within a school or office complex;

• the size of the organisation and whether there are several buildings spread out across the site;

• the size, nature, and distribution of the workforce, including:

• whether any of the employees are inexperienced, young, or work experience trainees and therefore at greater risk,

• whether any of the workers suffer from a disability or ill-health,

• whether there are any shift or out-of-hours workers,

• whether any of the workers have language or reading difficulties,

• whether any workers travel, or work remotely or alone, and

• whether any work in shared or multi-occupied sites, or at the site of another employer (first-aid arrangements must cover other site occupiers);

• whether members of the public visit (employers do not have any legal responsibility for non-employees, but the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) strongly recommends that they are considered when making provision for first-aid);

• the history of accidents and ill health – their type, frequency, consequence and where they happened;

• whether the workplace is remote from emergency medical services; and

• the annual leave and other absences (planned and unplanned) of first-aiders and appointed persons.

   

SIGNIFICANT OR UNUSUAL RISKS

If there are significant or more unusual risks at the workplace, the following must also be considered:

• extra training for first-aiders to cover the unusual risks or special procedures which they may need to carry out in the event of an injury or illness (for example, workers in confined spaces),

• extra first-aid equipment,

• reviewing the content of the first-aid box,

• the precise location of first-aid equipment, perhaps in particular areas or at various points throughout a large building or site,

• different levels of provision in different parts of the establishment (for example, the school Kitchen compared to the rest of the school),

• whether local medical services need to be informed of the location of the workplace,

• whether special arrangements need to be made with the emergency services, and

• whether to issue personal first-aid kits and training staff how to use them, and

• whether to issue personal communicators such as mobile phones or walkie-talkies to employees.

FIRST-AID BOX

A first-aid box must be accessible at all times. The HSE suggests that at the very least, it should contain:

• a leaflet giving general first-aid advice (such as the HSE’s leaflet, Basic Advice on First-aid at Work),

• 20 individually wrapped sterile plasters in various sizes,

• 2 sterile eye pads,

• 4 (preferably sterile) individually wrapped triangular bandages,

• 6 safety pins,

• 6 medium-sized (approximately 12cm x 12cm) individually wrapped sterile un-medicated wound dressings,

• 2 large (18cm x 18cm) sterile individually wrapped un-medicated wound dressings, and

• 1 pair of disposable gloves.

• Equivalent items are acceptable. The risk assessment may show that other specific items are necessary due to the risk of particular hazards.

   

FIRST-AID ROOMS

First-aid rooms are usually essential in high-risk establishments, or at larger premises which are a distance from medical services. This criteria does not normally apply to most places in which UNISON organises. However, as with all first-aid provision, the decision on whether or not to have a first-aid room has to be on the basis of the employer having assessed the first-aid needs appropriate to the workplace. A number of factors will need to be considered including workplace hazards and risks, and the workplace history of accidents.

If a first-aid room is judged to be necessary, it must: contain essential first-aid facilities and equipment, be easily accessible for stretchers and any other equipment needed to convey patients to and from the room, and be clearly sign-posted and identified (in accordance with separate regulations on safety signs). A designated person (first-aider or appointed person) should be given responsibility for the room.

Changes made in 2002 to the First-Aid Regulations have encouraged a few employers to remove first-aid rooms in an attempt to avoid meeting the amended requirements. In fact, the changes are only slight. The provision on stretcher accessibility and sign-posting was previously within the approved code of practice (ACoP) to the regulations. Employers must follow ACoPs, unless they can show that they are meeting the provision in some other way. Now these particular requirements are within the actual regulations which also now cover other methods of carrying patients and the specific type of signage.

Therefore any employer simply now deciding that a first-aid room is not or no longer required, should be asked to justify this reason by providing the branch with it’s assessment. In particular, if a first-aid room was previously deemed essential, what are the changed circumstances which make this no-longer a requirement?

APPOINTED PERSONS AND FIRST-AIDERS

Where the risk assessment shows that people need to be available to administer first-aid to employees, a suitable number of trained and qualified first-aiders and/or appointed persons must be provided.

First-aiders are trained and must have a current first-aid at work certificate to show that they are capable of giving first-aid. First-aid training is available from organisations recognised by the HSE, including St. John’s Ambulance and the British Red Cross. Courses usually last 4 days and are valid for 3 years, although a one-day refresher or booster course is recommended each year. Renewal courses tend to last for 2 days. First-aiders may need additional training where there are specific and unusual hazards, such as work in confined spaces. The training and experience of qualified medical doctors and nurses may qualify them to administer first-aid. If the risk assessment identifies that first-aiders are necessary, they must be available whenever people are at work, except for exceptional, unforeseen, and temporary circumstances; when an appointed person must be available.

An appointed person will also be the minimum requirement in a workplace where the risk assessment concluded that a first-aider was not necessary. There must always be at least one appointed person available whenever there are people at work.

An appointed person will be responsible for anyone injured or ill, for calling an ambulance where necessary, and for looking after the first-aid equipment. Appointed persons are not first-aiders and therefore should not give first-aid for which they have not been trained, although ideally they should receive training in emergency first-aid.

How many first-aiders and/or appointed persons will be a suitable amount will depend on the risks, the hazards, and other circumstances of the workplace, all of which should be considered in the risk assessment. The table below which gives a guide, is reproduced from the HSE. Extra first-aiders/appointed persons will be needed to cover absences.

PAYMENTS OF ALLOWANCES TO FIRST-AIDERS AND APPOINTED PERSONS

A 2001 survey of UNISON branches showed that most employers (61%) paid first-aiders an allowance to encourage staff to take on this responsibility. All appointed persons were found to be paid an allowance, although less than 4% of employers had appointed persons, and those that did also had first-aiders. The average allowance for first-aiders was £128.61 per year, £10.72 per month, or £2.47 per week. The range of payments varied from £30 to £404 per year.

Most of the employers who did not pay first-aiders were in the healthcare sector. This may be due to the mistaken belief by employers that the workforce tends not to need any training in first-aid. If employers in the healthcare sector who do not pay an allowance are excluded, only 12% of employers surveyed did not pay their first-aiders for the additional services they provide.

Branches negotiating the payment of an allowance for first-aiders need to check that there is not a better national agreement. If not, they should aim for about £5 per week/£250 per year as a minimum. First-aiders are volunteers and willingly accept the duty and responsibility that the post involves. A minimum allowance of £5 per week/£250 per year is not much for an employer to pay in comparison.

UNISON’s First-aid Payments Survey Report (HS/06/01) gives full details of the survey breakdown and is available to download from the health and safety section of UNISON’s website at: http://www.unison.org.uk/safety/index Alternatively, telephone the Health and Safety Unit on: 020 7551 1446

INFORMING EMPLOYEES

Employers must inform employees about the provision of first-aid, and the location of equipment, facilities, and first-aid personnel. This information should be part of the induction training for new employees. In addition, there must be at least one notice in the workplace giving the above details. Whether any workers have language or reading difficulties, this must be taken account of.

NB. This page can be found on UNISON's main site: http://www.unison.org.uk/safety/infosheets.asp