First aid kit checklist

What the law requires

Regulation 3 of the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 requires every employer to provide "such equipment and facilities as are adequate and appropriate in the circumstances" for giving first aid to employees who are injured or become ill at work. Regulation 4 requires you to tell your employees what the arrangements are, including where the equipment is kept.

That is all the regulations say about equipment. They contain no list of contents, no quantities and no inspection interval. What is adequate and appropriate is for you to decide, by assessing your first aid needs: the work you do, the hazards, how many people you have and where they work.

HSE's guidance for employers sets the floor. As a minimum you must have a suitably stocked first aid kit, an appointed person to take charge of first aid arrangements, and information for all employees about those arrangements. HSE says you do not have to write the needs assessment down, although doing so shows how you reached your decision.

What should be in a workplace first aid kit

HSE's answer starts with a caution: what you provide depends on your needs assessment. It then gives a guide. Where work activities involve low hazards, a minimum stock of first aid items might be:

• a leaflet giving general guidance on first aid, for example HSE's leaflet Basic advice on first aid at work;
• individually wrapped sterile plasters in assorted sizes, appropriate to the type of work (hypoallergenic plasters can be provided if necessary);
• sterile eye pads;
• individually wrapped triangular bandages, preferably sterile;
• safety pins;
• large sterile individually wrapped unmedicated wound dressings;
• medium-sized sterile individually wrapped unmedicated wound dressings;
• disposable gloves.

HSE adds: "This is only a suggested contents list." Its first aid questions and answers page, where the list appears, gives no quantities. How many of each you hold depends on how many people the kit serves and how often it is used.

Items your assessment may add

HSE names further items that a needs assessment may show are required: foil blankets, cleansing wipes, cutting shears, scissors, hypoallergenic microporous adhesive tape, disposable aprons and individually wrapped moist wipes. They can go in the kit if there is room or be stored separately.

Eye wash is a separate point. HSE says that if mains tap water is not readily available for eye irrigation, you should provide at least one litre of sterile water or sterile normal saline (0.9%) in sealed, disposable containers. Once the seal is broken a container should not be kept for reuse, and containers should not be used after their expiry date.

A kitchen, a joinery shop and a site with no running water will each want more than the minimum. Burns dressings where people work with heat are one example. That choice comes from your assessment, and they are not on HSE's list.

British Standard BS 8599-1 kits

British Standard BS 8599-1 covers workplace first aid kits, and HSE says employers may wish to refer to it for further information on contents. A kit sold as complying with it is one way to buy everything in one go.

You do not have to buy one. HSE states that it is not a regulatory requirement under the 1981 Regulations to purchase kits that comply with the standard, and that the contents of a first aid box depend on the employer's needs assessment. It describes two acceptable options: a kit that complies with BS 8599-1 and matches or exceeds what your assessment found, or a kit that matches your assessment but does not comply with the standard.

Either way, the test is the assessment. A BS 8599-1 kit that lacks something your work calls for is not adequate until you add it.

What not to keep in the box

Tablets and medicines. HSE's position is that first aid at work does not include giving tablets or medicines to treat illness, and it recommends that tablets and medicines should not be kept in the first aid box. That includes everyday painkillers such as paracetamol, however often people ask for them.

HSE notes one exception to the rule about giving medication: aspirin, where it is used in first aid for a casualty with a suspected heart attack, in line with currently accepted first aid practice. Where someone needs their own prescribed medication, such as an inhaler, HSE says the first aider's role is generally limited to helping them take it and contacting the emergency services as appropriate.

How many kits, and where to keep them

HSE's guidance is that you should provide at least one first aid kit for each workplace, with more than one on larger sites, and that kits should be easily accessible. Think about how long it would take to fetch the box from the furthest point of the building, and about anyone working upstairs, in a separate unit or outside normal hours.

People who travel or work away from base are part of the assessment too. HSE says it should determine whether those who travel long distances or are continuously mobile should carry a personal first aid box.

All first aid boxes should be marked with a white cross on a green background, and HSE says signs should be placed where they can be seen and easily identified. Everyone needs to know where the kit is, which is easiest to cover on the first day as part of the health and safety induction.

How often to check a first aid kit

There is no legal interval. HSE says the contents should be "checked frequently and restocked soon after any use", and that there is no specified timetable for replacing them. Its guidance on dates is:

• Many items, particularly sterile ones, are marked with expiry dates. Replace them by the date given and dispose of expired items safely.
• Where sterile items have no date, check with the manufacturer how long they can be kept.
• For non-sterile items without dates, it is a matter of judgement whether they are still fit for purpose.

A workable routine for a small firm is a check once a month and again after any use. That figure is our suggestion and is not HSE's. Kits in vans and busy workshops empty faster and may need a weekly look.

The check belongs to a named person. HSE describes the appointed person's role as including looking after the first aid equipment and facilities, and where you have first aiders they often take it on.

First aid kit checklist

Use one sheet for each kit. Each line is written so that "yes" means all is well. The contents section lists HSE's suggested minimum for low-hazard work. Write in the quantity you have decided on for each item and add the extra items from your own needs assessment.

The box

• The kit is in its usual place and can be reached quickly
• The box is marked with a white cross on a green background
• The box is clean and dry and closes properly
• Nothing is stored on top of it or in front of it

Contents

• There is a leaflet giving general guidance on first aid
• There are enough individually wrapped sterile plasters, in assorted sizes
• There are enough sterile eye pads
• There are enough individually wrapped triangular bandages
• There are enough safety pins
• There are enough large sterile unmedicated wound dressings, individually wrapped
• There are enough medium-sized sterile unmedicated wound dressings, individually wrapped
• There are enough disposable gloves
• Every extra item your needs assessment calls for is present in the quantity set

Condition and dates

• Every item with an expiry date is in date
• Sterile packs are sealed, dry and undamaged
• Items without a date are clean and fit for use
• Nothing opened or part-used has been put back in the box
• There are no tablets or medicines in the box

Eye wash, where mains tap water is not readily available

• At least one litre of sterile water or sterile saline is provided in sealed, disposable containers
• Every container is sealed and in date

Signs, people and spares

• A first aid sign shows where the kit is and can be seen clearly
• The names of the first aiders or the appointed person are displayed and up to date
• A named person is responsible for checking and restocking this kit, with cover when they are away
• Everyone who has started since the last check has been told where the kit is and who the first aiders are
• Spare stock is held to refill the kit
• Kits in vehicles and personal kits for travelling staff have been checked in the same way

What to do when something is missing, and what to record

• Restock straight away. Refill from your spare stock on the day of the check, and reorder the spares.
• Take out anything expired, opened or damaged. HSE says expired items should be disposed of safely.
• Ask where the missing items went. If plasters or dressings were used, there should be a matching entry in your accident book or incident records. If there is not, an injury went unrecorded.
• Look for a pattern. A kit that keeps running out of the same item is telling you about a hazard, and that should go back into your risk assessment and your first aid needs assessment.

The regulations do not require a record of kit checks. Keep one anyway. Note the date, who checked, which kit, what was replaced and anything that needs ordering. It shows that the equipment was adequate on a given day. The kit is also one line in a general workplace inspection.

Keeping it in SafetyPro360

The checklist above can be set up in SafetyPro360 as a checklist of your own, with each line as a question and your own quantities written in. The person responsible runs it on a phone at the box. Each completed check is kept with its date, who did it and its score. SafetyPro360 does not schedule the check for you, so pick a day each month and keep to it.

Questions people ask