A Guide To First Aid Rooms

A first aid room is a designated area filled with first aid supplies where someone who has fallen ill or had an accident can be taken. They are usually well signposted and have to be easily accessible to everyone.
 
First aid rooms are particularly important for venues such as schools, construction sites and areas that use powerful chemicals as it is likely that they will see more accidents than other locations.
 

Do all workplaces need a first aid room?

Ideally all workplaces will have a location for first aid, it is not however possible for every workplace to have an entire room dedicated to first aid. So even if you are unable to provide a whole room, your workplace must have an area that is set up with medical supplies.
 
The necessity of a first aid room depends on how at risk your business is in terms of potential accidents and how many employees you have working there. The more employees, or the higher the risk for accidents, the more it becomes a necessity to provide a first aid room.
 
Read Does my workplace need a First Aid Room? if you are still unsure if your workplace requires one.

An image of an injury in the workplace
 

Legal requirements for first aid rooms

According to The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, employers are required to provide “adequate and appropriate” first aid equipment and facilities. This means that there is a legal requirement for your first aid room to be stocked with the supplies that would be necessary in any potential incidents. For example, an eye wash station and burns kit would be particularly advisable in a kitchen.
 
The same regulations also state that there must be an employee who has been trained and is able to carry out first aid when needed. A lot of first aid rooms will have a list of the qualified first aiders with instructions on how to contact them in an emergency.
 

First aid room equipment

There are several supplies that are essential when equipping your first aid room, while others are dependent upon the risks that could occur at your workplace. For example, every first aid room should have access to running water and soap to prevent contamination.
 An image of a first aid kit on the wall

First aid kit

There should always be a fully stocked and easily accessible first aid kit available in your first aid room. This will ensure that you have access to the basic first aid supplies to provide care to the injured party.
 
The first aid kit should be appropriate to the number of employees located at your workplace. For example, a small first aid kit is suitable for roughly 1-24 staff members, while a large first aid kit is suitable for roughly 100+.
 An image of a defibrillator on the wall

Defibrillator

A defibrillator is a piece of technology that can help you to survive a heart attack. It analyses the heart and provides a shock if it is necessary. These are needed in a first aid room as they provide a victim with a higher chance of survival than standard CPR would.
 
It is especially necessary if you have older staff within the workforce, have a high volume of visitors on site or are in a location where it could take longer for an ambulance to reach you in an emergency.
 

An image of a first aid sign
First aid signage

Having the appropriate signage is essential for your first aid room.
 
Initially it is to inform everyone of where the room is located and make it easy to identify for visitors. This is done by having a sign on the door, usually green with a white cross, so that everyone who passes knows that there is first aid available there.
 
You can also use posters in the first aid room to remind first aiders of the steps for different emergencies. These posters can be specific to the location of your first aid room. For example, if it is a workplace, you may want a poster for general workplace first aid, whereas if it was a first aid room in a pre-school you would want a pre-school first aid poster.
 An image of a first aid couch

First aid couches

A first aid space should be large enough to fit a first aid couch in. A first aid couch is a padded bench that can be used for examination and enhancing patient comfort.
 
These couches provide a space where the patient can sit or lay down, depending on the angle of the adjustable head section, while being examined or treated by the trained first aider. They also tend to come with built-in space for a roll dispenser which will help to maintain the cleanliness and hygiene level of this space.
 An image of an eye wash

Eye wash/eye baths

Having the facilities to wash any harmful components out of someone’s eyes immediately is necessary for your first aid room. If you don’t flush out the eye of all dangerous contaminants as quickly as possible there is a higher chance of serious, permanent damage being done.
  An image of an accident report book

Accident report book

An accident report book may seem like a small item to have in your first aid room, but it is one of the most important.
 
An accident report book allows you to record details, such as:
  • Who had the accident.
  • Where it occurred.
  • What happened.
  • Who treated them.
  • How they were treated.
 
This information is important for accident reporting, because it tracks the incident. It means that when an ambulance arrives, if it is necessary, you will have all of the information they require ready. It is also a good way to remember what treatment was provided so that no overlapping medication is given by accident.

 

School first aid rooms

It is imperative that a school’s first aid room is somewhere that is private and hygienic. This is to prevent cross contamination and as a measure to safeguard the children undergoing examination.
School first aid rooms need to include very similar equipment to that of a workplace first aid room, to provide temporary care for the students. This will generally include a low level examination couch instead of a standard size to make it more accessible for children and signage related to the more common ailments that they would face.
 
There are several legal requirements for schools to have first aid rooms, in The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 it is the school’s responsibility to ensure “arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school”. Also, The School Premises (England) Regulations 2012, states that “Suitable accommodation must be provided in order to cater for the medical and therapy needs of pupils”.
 An image of a school first aid room

Our first aid rooms

We currently have two first aid room packages available to order, which allow you to save over 10% when comparing it to the cost of ordering everything individually:  
Read our other blogs for more information on first aid or contact us for further advice and information on our products.