What is a First Aid Needs Assessment?

Updated: February 2024

The HSE has recently updated its L74 First Aid at Work Document, part of the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, for 2024. This document includes advice on assessing the requirement for first aid training and equipment provision at your workplace, and then implementing those findings.

How do I assess the first aid requirements for my business?

Simply put, you carry out a First Aid Needs Assessment. This is like a risk assessment, but for your business first aid requirements.

All employers have a legal responsibility to ensure that an adequate number of appropriately trained first aiders, first aid equipment, and potentially a first aid room, is provided in keeping with the findings of their First Aid Needs Assessment.

To create a First Aid Needs Assessment, you’ll need to understand your business and workplace. Therefore, there is no standard document or template, just a requirement that the first-aid provision must be ‘adequate and appropriate’. As the employer, HSE puts the responsibility on you to define what ‘adequate and appropriate’ looks like for your business.

What is ‘adequate and appropriate’ first aid provision?

This is what a first aid needs assessment aims to discover. You’ll evaluate your workplace and discover hazards and risks, then implement processes, purchase equipment and train staff to lessen these risks.

Low risk environments. For the average office, this might mean providing basic first aid equipment, removing unnecessary risks from your office environment, and ensuring that trained personnel are available at all times.

High risk environments. The Construction, Forestry, Agriculture, Fishing, Chemical, and Manufacturing industries are classic examples of higher risk environments, as well as workplaces where a lot of people are present such as supermarkets and events. These high risk environments might require a much greater provision. That might include dedicated first aid rooms, more personnel trained to a higher level, and a greater provision of potentially more specialist equipment.

Case studies. The HSE has produced a series of case studies to help you with your first-aid needs assessment. These are a helpful starting point, but every workplace is different and will have different risks.

How do I complete a first aid needs assessment?

1. Start by downloading our first aid needs assessment template here
2. Complete the questions, making sure you carefully consider the needs of all workers within your business. This includes those that might work off-site or in remote locations. Also consider any visitors to your business.
3. Once you’ve completed the form, review the HSE guidelines here. Although it tries to keep things simple, it can be a complicated document and we’re always happy to provide impartial advice if needed – do get in touch.

What do I need to consider as part of our first aid needs assessment?

In assessing your first aid needs, you should consider:

• The nature of the work you do
• Workplace hazards and risks (including specific hazards requiring special arrangements)
• The nature and size of your workforce
• The work patterns of your staff
• Holiday and other absences of those who will be first aiders 
• Your organisation’s history of accidents

Additionally, a business should consider:

• The needs of travelling, remote and lone workers
• The distribution of your workforce
• The remoteness of any of your sites from emergency medical services
• Whether your employees work on shared or multi-occupancy sites
• First aid provision for non-employees (eg members of the public)

Do I need a mental health first aider?

“You should consider ways to manage mental ill health in your workplace which are appropriate for your business, such as providing information or training for managers and employees, employing occupational health professionals, appointing mental health trained first aiders and implementing employee support programmes.”

 Since 2019, the HSE considers that Mental Health SHOULD be part of a First Aid Needs Assessment. Find out more about this topic here.

Following your first aid needs assessment you might decide that it would be beneficial to have someone trained to identify and understand symptoms of a mental health issue. We would urge all employers to consider mental heath. Mental health is a leading cause of absences and nominating a mental health first aider could improve workplace productivity.

We provide Mental Health First Aid courses and also this FREE mental health first aid for employers course, which focusses on how to spot signs of mental ill-health, support your staff and help them develop the skills required to help. It’ll also help them build mental resilience.

Get confident – get some first aid training

We use and discuss the legal aspects of First Aid in all of our First Aid courses. Our systematic approach to teaching first aid helps your learning and understanding of many illnesses and injuries. Practicing first aid techniques reinforces your learning too. Find our more about our full range of First Aid Courses here.

Every client on our courses receives a copy of our Digital First Aid Manual relevant to the course they come on. You can also view and buy our manuals in our online shop. In addition, our YouTube channel contains over 40 practical first aid videos.