Top ten things to go in a first aid room or a sports first aid room?

A first aid or medical room is a room where someone who is ill or injured is taken for first aid treatment and wait the arrival of emergency services if required. It also allows privacy as well a chance to reassure the casualty in a safe and calm space. But what should you have in a first aid room or sports first aid room?

Specific rules for Sports First Aid rooms.

At a sports venue a first aid room is reserved for the provision of first aid to spectators, players and staff. Sports Grounds designated under the provisions of the Safety of Sports Grounds Order 2006 should have a first aid room that should be available for use at all specified activities. It would be recommended for events particularly where the attendance is likely to exceed 2,000 the recommended minimum size of the room is 15 m². Where the authorised capacity of the ground exceeds 15,000 this size should be increased to at least 25m².

Get a life saving defibrillator (AED)!

Each year, 60,000 people suffer cardiac arrest outside of hospitals. It can happen to anyone at any time and for each minute that passes without defibrillation, the chances of survival falls by up to 10%. Sports venues where people gather in large numbers as should ensure that defibrillators are provided at all events. The SFA and SYFA state that at all training events and matches a defibrillator should be on site – and easily and quickly accessible. Read our FAQs about defibrillators / AEDs.

What does the law say about first aid rooms?

The HSE First Aid at Work Regulations state that a first aid room should have the following:

1. Your record book for recording incidents dealt with by a first-aider or appointed person.
2. Appropriate first aid equipment and a store for additional first-aid materials.
3. An examination or medical couch with waterproof protection and clean pillows and blankets, (a paper couch roll may be used that is changed between casualties). A chair or two is also beneficial.
4. Adequate heating, ventilation and lighting and be accessible and available at all times.
5. Ideally, the room should be positioned near to the venue entrance or exit to allow emergency services to find you and remove the casualty for transport to hospital.
6. A telephone and a notice displaying the names, telephone numbers and locations of First Aiders.
7. A sink with hot and cold running water.
8. Drinking water with disposable cups.
9. Soap and paper towels.
10. Foot-operated bins, lined with disposable yellow clinical waste bags, or a container suitable for the safe disposal of clinical waste.

It is important that a designated person is responsible for the regular inspection, cleanliness and maintenance of the first aid room.

What first aid kit should you have?

There are British Standard First aid kits (BS 8599) which we would always advise you buy. It is not a regulatory requirement under the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 to purchase kits that comply with this standard. Instead the contents of a first aid box is dependent on an employers First Aid Needs Assessment. Download our FREE First Aid Needs Assessment Guide here.

However, you are required by Health & Safety law to ensure it is appropriate for the people in your workplace and the types of activities you do there. Read our FAQs about first aid kit contents here.

Get confident – get trained!

To prepare for the worst why not consider taking a first aid course so you can manage an incident if one occurs. To find out which first aid course is best for you check out our full range of First Aid courses. 

The Scottish Youth FA and the Scottish FA require a first aider to be on the side lines during training and at matches to deal with first aid incidents. First Aid Training Co-operative is approved to run their specific 16 hour Sports First Aid course.

Everyone on our courses receives a FREE digital first aid manual. We have a range of manuals relevant to the courses we teach – Outdoor, Equestrian, First Aid at Work, Paediatric, Sports and Mental Health. They are a great resource that you can download onto your phone or other device and have all that first aid knowledge at your fingertips. You can view them and buy them for less than £5 here.

You may also be interested in our digital Sports First Aid Manual. This can be downloaded multiple times to your hand held tablet or phone and includes links to a large video library of videos demonstrating first aid techniques like CPR and injury management. The manual also contains links to a library of blogs dealing with specific illnesses and injuries.