Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
First Aid at work
HSE has conducted a review of the first aid regulations aimed at evaluating whether the regulations are still effective in their current form in meeting the needs of modern businesses. To help inform the review, HSE commissioned research and consulted with stakeholders on a variety of issues.
In the first phase of the review, HSE commissioned Casella Winton to look at how employers view the first aid regulations and what factors influence their compliance with them. This report, published in February 2003, presents the findings of the research.
In the second phase of the review, HSE published a Discussion Document requesting views from stakeholders on a range of topics, including first aid legislation, training, approval of first aid at work training organisations, first aid equipment and medications. The consultation closed at the end of November 2003.
Over 500 responses were received from consultation on the Discussion Document. This report presents an analysis of the findings.
This paper was presented to the Health and Safety Commission in September 2004 and incorporated recommendations following analysis of responses to the Discussion Document.
The Commission agreed with recommendations that the first aid regulations and approved code of practice should not be changed and that within this framework certain issues needed to be progressed such as changes to first aid at work training courses and exploring a model for replacing the existing arrangements for approving first aid at work training organisations.
Latest developments on the outcome of this review can be found on the ‘What's new’ page.
HSE has become aware of research findings that suggest people with first aid training may have a positive influence on health and safety in the workplace. First aiders may be in an advantageous position to help spread positive, basic health and safety messages throughout industry. To help evaluate this further, HSE commissioned research to assess the size of the ‘workplace first aid population’ in Great Britain. From the data, HSE has provisionally estimated that at least 1.4 million workers have an up to date certificate in first aid at work or have recently completed first aid training for appointed persons. The findings of the research have been published:
In addition, an article on this work has been published in Occupational Health Review (2005; Issue 113:31-32), discussing the possibility that first aiders may have a role as intermediaries in occupational health and safety. The article covers relevant research published in the scientific literature as well as the HSE commissioned research on the number of first aiders in the workplace.