In any company, when deciding on the number and type of First Aid personnel, employers need to consider:

   =   workplace hazards & risks
   =   size of the organisation
   =   history of accidents in the organisation
   =   nature and distribution of the workforce
   =   remoteness of the site from emergancy medical services
   =   annual leave & other absences of First Aid trained staff

Whilst the regulations do not give specific personnel numbers, the following guidance from the Health & Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 does give suggested numbers of First Aid personnel.

  

1 From your risk assessment, what degree of hazard is associated with your work activities?	2 How many employees do you have?	3 What first-aid personnel do you need?	4 What injuries and illness have previously occurred in your workplace?	5 Have you taken account of the factors below that may affect your first-aid provision?
Low hazard e.g. offices, shops, libraries	Less than 25	At least one appointed person	1. Ensure any injuries and illness that might occur can be dealt with by the first- aid personnel you provide 2. Where first-aiders are shown to be unnecessary, there is still a possibility of an accident or sudden illness, so you may wish to consider providing qualified first-aiders	1.Inexperienced workers or employees with disabilities or particular health problems 2. Employees who travel a lot, work remotely or work alone 3. Employees who work shifts or out of hours 4. Premises spread out across buildings/floors 5. Workplace remote from emergency medical services 6. Employees working at sites occupied by other employers 7. Planned and unplanned absences of first-aiders/ appointed persons 8. Members of the public who visit the workplace
	25–50	At least one first-aider trained in EFAW
	More than 50	At least one first-aider trained in FAW for every 100 employed (or part thereof)
Higher hazard e.g. light engineering and assembly work, food processing, warehousing, extensive work with dangerous machinery or sharp instruments, construction, chemical manufacture	Less than 5	At least one appointed person
	5–50	At least one first-aider trained in EFAW or FAW depending on the type of injuries that might occur
	More than 50	At least one first-aider trained in FAW for every 50 employed (or part thereof)

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