Are you worried about whether your business is meeting its first aid kit requirements?
Businesses of any type need to make sure they have the right first aid equipment on hand to deal with injuries and the onset of severe illnesses. Even if your business does not engage in dangerous work, there are a number of different conditions that customers and employees may suffer from that will require urgent medical attention.
Having a first aid kit is not only important to ensure the health and safety of employees and customers. It is also extremely important to protect your business from civil lawsuits and also to protect your business reputation in the event that something goes wrong.
So, be safe rather than sorry and make sure your business has all of the first aid equipment it needs on hand.
In this article, you will find all of the essentials that a workplace first aid kit needs to have.
OSHA First Aid Requirements
OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration) provides guidelines on the obligations of businesses to ensure the health and safety of people in a workplace.
An OSHA approved first aid kit will include the following items for a 2-3 person workplace. If a business employs more people, a proportionate number of first aid kits need to be on hand.
- Small (4 x 4 inches) and large gauze pads (8 x 10 inches)
- Adhesive bandages
- One gauze roller bandage (at least 2 inches wide)
- Two triangular bandages
- Substance for cleaning wounds (e.g. moistened antibacterial towels)
- Scissors
- Tweezers
- Blanket
- Adhesive tape
- Latex gloves
- Resuscitation equipment (this may include any or all of the following: resuscitation bag, airway, or pocket mask)
- Two elastic wraps
- 1 splint
- Clear guidelines on where to seek medical assistance
Further First Aid Kit Requirements
Standard first aid kits are designed to take care of the most common issues affecting workplaces, including cuts and burns. However, you cannot underestimate the possibility that a worker or customer may suffer from a serious illness that becomes a problem at work.
This is most likely to be a respiratory illness such as acute asthma, or a cardiovascular issue, such as chronic heart disease, heart attack, or stroke.
A respiratory illness like asthma can be a huge problem because a worker may not even be aware they suffer from it or have never experienced an acute asthma attack. The best thing to do is to keep a bronchodilator on hand. A bronchodilator is a substance (usually supplied by a puffer) that dilates the airways to allow air to flow once more.
For cardiac illnesses, you can find dedicated first aid kits for a quick response. You should also keep directions for CPR on hand to respond before emergency services arrive.
Take Workplace First Aid Seriously
Occupational first aid is something that no business can afford to ignore. The most important thing to remember if you are being serious about first aid in your workplace is to be prepared early.
That means taking the time to make sure your workplace meets all of its minimum first aid kit requirements, but also going beyond that by being prepared for the sudden onset of acute illnesses.
5250 workers died from workplace incidents in 2018 across the US, including both accidents and acute illnesses. Make sure none of your workers become one of these statistics.
If you have found this information helpful, make sure you check out our other helpful workplace advice. You will be surprised by the problems that your workplace may face in the future!
