The new First Aid at Work Guidelines for Employers from the Health and Safety Executive are effective from 1st October 2009. You can download the ful guidelines here. The new type of first aid needs assessment will identify what type of first aid training your first aiders will need, how many first aiders you need and where they should be located.
There is no requirement for the assessment of first aid needs to be formal or written down although it may be useful for employers to record the results and employers might need to justify their level of first-aid provision.
How much first-aid provision an employer has to make depends on the circumstances of each workplace.
There are now two levels of workplace first aider making it necessary to carry out this assessment to ensure that you provide the correct type of first aider(s) :
A first aid needs assessment should consider the following
Click here for some example case studies.
Suggested numbers of first-aid personel to be available at all times people are at work
Ref: HSE First Aid at Work, The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, Approved Code of Practice and Guidance. 2nd Edition 2009