The HSE recommend that you include non-employees in your first aid needs assessment. You should consider the duty of care that you assume when a non-employee visits your site. This is particularly relevant if you provide a service for others such as schools, places of entertainment, shops etc. Consider both the injuries and illnesses that could occur.

For large events such as concerts, organisers have a duty of care to ensure that adequate medical, ambulance and first aid cover is available. Organisers of such events should refer to The Event Safety Guide, published by HSE books, for further information.

 
The Size of the Organisation
The number of people on a site should no longer be the primary basis for determining first aid needs; all the areas of the new first aid needs assessment should be carefully considered. However, in general terms the larger your organisation is, the more first aiders you will need.

After identifying the locations / times that first aid cover is needed, the HSE recommend:

• That ‘non-manual’, low risk workplaces (such as shops, offices, libraries) have a minimum of one first aider on duty at all times per 100 people (or part thereof).
• That ‘manual’ workplaces (light assembly work, warehousing, food processing or higher risks), have a minimum of one first aider on duty at all times per 50 people (or part thereof).

It is likely that if your workplace is large you will have already identified the need for full FAW (18 hour) training for your first aiders, but in any case, due to the increased probability of illness and injury occurring in larger workplaces, the HSE recommend that full FAW (18 hour) training is provided if:

• 100 or more people are employed in a ‘non-manual’, low risk workplace; or
• 50 or more people are employed in a ‘manual’ or higher risk workplace.

Reviewing the First Aid Needs Assessment
You should review your first aid needs from time to time, particularly if you have operational changes in your workplace. It is recommended that a record is kept of incidents dealt with by first aiders to assist in this process.

Annual Refresher Training
Due to the wealth of evidence on the severity of ‘first aid skill fade’, the HSE now recommend that all First Aiders attend annual refresher training. The flow chart below shows the new sequence of training:

Examples >