First Aid Room Requirements: When You Need One and What Goes In It

A first aid room is not required in every workplace. HSE guidance says you should provide one where your first aid needs assessment shows it is necessary, which usually means large sites, higher-hazard work (such as construction, chemicals or heavy industry) or premises a long way from emergency medical help. Most offices, shops and small workplaces do not need a dedicated room; a well-stocked kit, trained first aiders and a private space to treat someone are enough. If you do need one, it should be easy to reach with a stretcher, clearly signed, clean, and equipped to the list below.

Do you need one? A quick check

Work through these questions as part of your first aid needs assessment. The more you answer yes, the stronger the case for a room:

• Is the work higher-hazard, for example construction, manufacturing, chemicals, warehousing with heavy plant, or labs?
• Are there a large number of people on site at once?
• Is the site remote, or would an ambulance take a long time to reach the casualty?
• Do injuries regularly need treating somewhere private, or do casualties sometimes need to lie down and be monitored?
• Do you run shifts where a casualty might need to wait for collection?

If every answer is no, a first aid room is unlikely to be necessary. Record that conclusion, and how you will treat people privately instead.

Where it should be

• Close to a point where an ambulance or car can collect a casualty
• Easy to reach with a stretcher or wheelchair, with nothing in the way
• Clearly signposted from around the site
• Available immediately whenever it is needed, including out of hours if you run shifts

Fit-out checklist

HSE guidance describes what a first aid room should contain. Use this as your checklist:

• Sink with hot and cold running water
• Drinking water and disposable cups
• Soap and paper towels
• Storage for first aid materials, kept stocked and in date
• Foot-operated bins, lined with yellow clinical waste bags
• Couch with a waterproof protective cover, and clean pillows and blankets
• A chair
• A telephone or other way of calling for help
• A record book for incidents
• Washable surfaces, and adequate heating, lighting and ventilation
• A notice on the door with the names and locations of your first aiders

Many workplaces that have a room also keep a defibrillator in or near it; see whether your workplace needs an AED.

Signage

Mark the room with the standard white cross on a green background, as set out in the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996, and use matching directional signs so people can find it quickly from around the site.

Keeping it usable

A first aid room fails if it is locked when needed, used as a store room, or stocked with expired supplies. Name someone to check it regularly, usually alongside your monthly kit checks, and write the arrangement into your first aid policy.

Shared buildings and London offices

In multi-tenant office buildings, the landlord or building manager sometimes provides a shared first aid room. That can form part of your provision, but it does not replace your own duty as an employer: your assessment should still say who your first aiders are, and how staff reach the room in practice.

A room is only as good as the person in it

The room gives a casualty somewhere safe; a trained first aider is what makes the difference. We deliver Emergency First Aid at Work (£550 per session) and First Aid at Work (£1,500 per session) on site across London for up to 12 staff, with no VAT to add and nothing to pay to book.

This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Request a free quote and we will confirm within 24 hours.