Yes, for now. FAW Cornwall is currently able to offer a 25% subsidy on all First Aid at Work Courses.

This includes First Aid at Work, First Aid at Work Requalification and Emergency First Aid at Work.

To qualify, the trainee attending the course must either ‘Work in Cornwall’ or ‘Work for a Cornish Based Company’ even if they usually work outside Cornwall.

The Subsidy is temporary but is likely to be extended if it proves to be popular, and may even be increased in the future if enough qualifying people are trained.

Yes, we welcome everyone of all abilities to our courses. We create Individual Leaning Plans (ILP’s) for every trainee to ensure they can achieve their full potential.

We have created a full page explaining how we accommodate every trainee, and how this applies to HSE Regulations, which you can access by clicking the ‘Inclusivity’ link in the page header.

The HSE does not give direct guidance on this and it is up to the company/organisation to determine the level of training their employees need.

The HSE states that this will depend on the outcome of the company’s own ‘First Aid Needs Assessment.’

You may wish to get professional Health and Safety advice to write your First Aid Needs Assessment to ensure it is correct for your circumstances.

However, FAW Cornwall is happy to suggest that the following level of training would be considered correct under HSE Guidelines (though you are required to confirm this with your own ‘First Aid Needs Assessment.’)

Companies/organisations that operate in low risk environments (e.g. shops, offices, libraries) First Aiders on duty at all times

1-24 employees - 1 Appointed Person

25-49 employees - 1 Emergency First Aid at Work trained person

50+ employees - 1 First Aid at Work trained person per 100 employees.

Companies/organisations that operate in higher risk environments (e.g. construction, warehousing, factories) First Aiders on duty at all times

1-4 employees - 1 Appointed Person

5-49 employees - 1 Emergency First Aid at Work trained person

50+ employees - 1 First Aid at Work trained person per 50 employees.

Note: This is how many trained people you need available during all operating hours. Ensure your work rota allows you to have a first aider available during all of the company’s operating hours. This means that you are likely to need to get several people trained to cover holidays, sickness and shift work.

An Appointed Person is someone at a company/organisation that has agreed to take responsibility for the first aid provision at that company/organisation.

This includes ensuring the first aid kits are; available, sufficient for purpose & in date, and will ensure accident report forms are completed and (if necessary) reported to the HSE. During a medical emergency they are the person who will call for medical assistance and administer any first aid they are able to give.

For companies in low risk industries (e.g. shops, offices, libraries) with less than 25 staff or companies in higher risk industries (e.g. construction, warehousing, factories) with less than 5 staff, having an appointed person is likely to be sufficient under HSE guidelines. This will depend on the outcome of the company’s First Aid Needs Assessment.

An Appointed Person is not required to have any formal First Aid training.

However, most companies/organisations choose to get their appointed person trained in at least Emergency First Aid at Work. Why? Well, it may be you that has a medical emergency and it could save your life, it is extra reassurance for your staff, and it goes in your favour in the event of an investigation by the HSE should an accident occur. The other reason is that it is often a requirement of your employer liability insurance so it is worthwhile to check the small print in your insurance policy.

Emergency First Aid at Work courses only take one day and are usually less than £100 and are therefore a relatively cheap and convenient way to ensure you are compliant with HSE rules and insurance policies.

The HSE requires all companies and organisations to complete a First Aid Needs Assessment.

The outcome of the assessment informs the company/organisation what First Aid provision they need to provide, including:

• Number of trained First Aiders

• Level of training your First Aiders should receive

• How many first aid kits you need

• How big your first aid kits should be

• What needs to be in your first aid kits

Most small to medium companies/organisations are able to complete their own First Aid Needs Assessment without paying for external advice. It can be a simple document showing they have considered all the factors and determined the level of first aid provision that is required for their size, industry and activities.

Larger companies with complex sites and more dangerous activities may wish to get external advice to ensure their First Aid Needs Assessment is correct.

For advice on writing a First Aid Needs Assessment please look at the next FAQ.

The HSE requires all companies/organisations to complete a First Aid Needs Assessment. This is often quite a simple document to create, unless you are a large company with complex sites and potentially dangerous activities.

Your document should demonstrate you have considered the following factors and then concluded what First Aid provision you should provide in terms of First Aiders and first aid equipment.

Factors to consider and how to add them to your assessment:

• How many employees do you have at work? (at any one time, allowing for any busy periods)

• What are your main activities? (list your main activities for clarity)

• Do your activities have an increased likelihood of injury? (for example office work can be considered no more dangerous than being at home so there is no increased likelihood of injury, if your staff operate potentially dangerous equipment or chemicals the likelihood of injury is much higher)

• If yes, identify and list all activities that have an increased likelihood of injury and the number of staff involved in each activity. (these can be grouped by type, for example if you have several large presses there is no need to list each one - put ‘3 presses operated by 1 member of staff for each press’)

• All the activities identified in the list above will need a Risk Assessment (not discussed here) but the purpose of this assessment is the First Aid Provision needed in the event of any injury/s caused. From the list above, list any likely type of injury, what first aid kit you might need to treat the injury, and realistically how many people could need treatment at any one time. (for clarity, if several of your employees use circular saws there is still only a realistic risk of one, or at most 2, being injured at a time so you would list the potential injury [major bleed or amputation], add any extra or specialist first aid kit that would be needed to your list [wound packing gauze and a tourniquet as this is the best kit to deal with major bleeds] and the quantity [2 x major bleed equipment to be stored nearby]. However, a chemical spill, gas leak or explosion could injure multiple people in the area and you would add extra first aid kits and trained first aiders to cover this worse case scenario [e.g. risk of explosion from flammable gas build-up, extra first aid kits would be required, up to 10 people could be affected so 2 x medium first aid kits to be available in the area and 2 trained First Aiders to be on site during this activity])

• Add to your assessment your working pattern and how it could impact the number of First Aiders you need. (this will depend on whether you operate 9-5 or if you have shift work. If staff operate 4 hour shifts or night shifts etc. you need to allow for this. Once you have determined how many first aiders should be on duty at any one time you will need to calculate how many people to train to ensure you have them available during any shift pattern, allowing for holidays and sick leave. This may mean training many more people than the minimum to ensure you have cover.)

• NOTE: the HSE does accept that unforeseen circumstances do occur and do not expect you to shut down for the day if you have less first aiders than planned, but there are limits to this, for example: if you have cover most of the time but don’t have cover for one day per week on average this is not acceptable, if a first aider leaves unexpectedly and you have not reasonably had time to train someone else this would be acceptable but evidence you had booked someone onto a course would be expected to show you recognised the problem and planned to resolve it, if a first aider failed to turn up to work and you were unable to find a replacement at short notice this would be acceptable providing this is not a regular occurrence that should have been recognised and resolved, if a first aider had to unexpectedly leave work early this is acceptable, if a first aider is on a lunch break and not on premises at the time this is acceptable, if you have insufficient first aid cover and you are planning to do a particularly dangerous activity it should be delayed until you have better cover (your risk assessment for this activity is likely to mention you will have first aiders present and therefore you should not proceed if you will breach your risk assessment)

• Finally, clearly summarise your findings with some short statements concluding:

1. Number of first aiders that need to be on duty at any one time

2. How many first aiders you plan to train to ensure the correct number are on duty, allowing for; shift patterns, planned holiday, sickness, other absence

3. How many first aid kits you will have and what size the will be

4. Where first aid kits need to be positioned to ensure easy and quick access

5. What specialist or additional items you have determined need to be included in your first aid kits and which particular kits they need to be in

No, sorry!

The HSE are very clear that you do not necessarily need your first aid kits to meet BS 8599-1 and even if they do, that does not guarantee you have met your HSE requirements for the provision of first aid.

How it works. The HSE requires you to complete a First Aid Needs Assessment (details can be found under other FAQ’s). Once you have completed your assessment you have 2 options for the provision of first aid equipment:

1. “Within your workplace you have access to a first aid kit whose contents complies with BS 8599-1 and matches or exceeds the findings from your needs assessment;”

2. “Within your workplace you have access to a first aid kit whose contents matches the findings from your needs assessment but does not comply with the requirements of BS 8599-1.”

Most companies and organisations use option 1 for convenience. They start with a BS 8599-1 compliant first aid kit and then add any extra items that have been identified by the needs assessment.

For example, if your staff work with circular saws there is a risk of an injury causing a major bleed or amputation. You would therefore conclude in your needs assessment that a major bleed control kit (usually wound packing gauze and a torniquet) should be added to your standard first aid kit.

Option 2 is usually only used where it is important the first aid kit is portable and light weight, in which case you would not want to carry any first aid equipment that your needs assessment has shown is not realistically useful.

CAUTION: There are many first aid kits available online that claim to match BS 8599-1 but very clearly do not. There is very little regulation for kits manufactured or assembled abroad. It is considered your responsibility to ensure your kit is compliant and the HSE will not accept you saying that the kit you bought claimed it was compliant as a valid defence if they decide to prosecute.

CHEAP KITS: It is always important for companies and organisations to save costs where possible. However, be aware that a first aid kit is there to save lives, maybe your own. BS 5899-1 dictates what should be in a first aid kit but has little control over what quality these item are.

For example, cheep dressings have pads that are not very effective or absorbent, the bandages can be too weak to apply pressure without breaking or lack stretch and don’t conform to hold the pad flat to the wound letting it leak, or are in packets that are ridiculously difficult to open in an emergency.

The difference between a cheap kit and a good quality kit is as little as £10, so if possible spend a little extra to buy a first aid kit that will be effective in an emergency.

The HSE requires you to complete a First Aid Needs Assessment to accurately determine what size kits you need (see FAQ’s above on First Aid Needs Assessments).

However, we are happy to advise that the following will be correct for most companies:

Companies with Low Risk activities (e.g. shops, offices, libraries)

1-24 employees - 1 Small Kit

25-49 employees - 1 Medium Kit

50+ employees - 1 Large Kit per 100 employees

Companies with Higher Risk activities (e.g. construction, warehousing, factories)

1-4 employees - 1 Small Kit

5-49 employees - 1 Medium Kit

50+ employees - 1 Large Kit per 50 employees

NOTE: It is important to understand that purely having BS 8599-1 compliant first aid kits of the correct size does not guarantee you meet the required HSE regulations. It is important you complete a First Aid Needs Assessment (advice on how to do this in detailed in an FAQ above) which may identify:

1. You need additional first aid equipment due to the activities you conduct and possible injuries that could occur

2. You need more first aid kits if you have a spread out site to ensure there is always a kit nearby

3. You need different types of kit in different parts of your facilities to cover the activities that occur there

Always ensure that any kit that claims to be compliant with BS 8599-1 really is. There are lots of kits available online that claim to match this standard but clearly do not. Be aware the the HSE considers it your responsibility to ensure your kits meet this standard if you have identified in your First Aid Needs Assessment that your kits will meet it.

Note: it is not necessary for your kits to meet this standard to be compliant (see the FAQ above about BS 8599-1 kits above). However, if you have decided to use kits that match this standard then they must, and failing to ensure your kits meet the standard would be regarded as a breach of HSE regulations.

On it’s own, purely having incorrect first aid equipment is very unlikely to lead to prosecution and you will usually be given the opportunity to update your equipment. However, if there is an incident and HSE find you did not have the correct first aid equipment to treat the injury/s there is a high likelihood of being prosecuted.

The quantity of each item in a BS 8599-1 compliant first aid kit will depend on it’s size (small, medium or large) but the items included remains the same. Please read the FAQ above for advice on what size kit you may need.

Small Kit‍ ‍

• 40 Washproof Plasters

• 4 Medium Sterile Dressings

• 1 Large Sterile Dressings

• 2 Eye Pad Dressings

• 2 Finger Dressings

• 2 Triangular Bandages

• 1 Conforming Bandage (7.5cm)

• 6 Nitrile Gloves (Pairs)

• 1 Burn Relief Dressing (10x10cm)

• 1 Foil Blanket

• 1 Resuscitation Face Shield

• 20 Cleansing Wipes

• 1 Microporous Tape (2.5cm)

• 1 Universal Shears

• 6 Assorted Safety Pins

• 1 First Aid Guidance Leaflet

Medium Kit‍ ‍

• 60 Washproof Plasters

• 6 Medium Sterile Dressings

• 2 Large Sterile Dressings

• 3 Eye Pad Dressings

• 3 Finger Dressings

• 3 Triangular Bandages

• 2 Conforming Bandage (7.5cm)

• 9 Nitrile Gloves (Pairs)

• 2 Burn Relief Dressing (10x10cm)

• 2 Foil Blanket

• 1 Resuscitation Face Shield

• 30 Cleansing Wipes

• 1 Microporous Tape (2.5cm)

• 1 Universal Shears

• 12 Assorted Safety Pins

• 1 First Aid Guidance Leaflet

Large Kit‍ ‍

• 100 Washproof Plasters

• 8 Medium Sterile Dressings

• 2 Large Sterile Dressings

• 4 Eye Pad Dressings

• 4 Finger Dressings

• 4 Triangular Bandages

• 2 Conforming Bandage (7.5cm)

• 12 Nitrile Gloves (Pairs)

• 2 Burn Relief Dressing (10x10cm)

• 3 Foil Blanket

• 2 Resuscitation Face Shield

• 40 Cleansing Wipes

• 1 Microporous Tape (2.5cm)

• 1 Universal Shears

• 24 Assorted Safety Pins

• 1 First Aid Guidance Leaflet

Legally speaking there is a difference.

To be considered a First Aider the person must have successfully completed appropriate training, proved their competency through formal assessments, and hold a valid certificate such as First Aid at Work (FAW), First Aid at Work Requalification (FAWR) or Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW)

If a person attends a first aid course (even if they receive a certificate) but did not pass any formal assessments then there is no evidence of them being competent and therefore, legally speaking, should not be considered a first aider.

At FAW Cornwall all our First Aid Courses (FAW, FAWR and EFAW) include full assessment as approved by the FAIB (First Aid Industry Body) and therefore by passing the assessment a trainee will become a certified first aider.

FAW Cornwall is a certified First Aid Training Provider with the FAIB (First Aid Industry Body). Our Instructor Calum Beeson is an FAIB certified First Aid Instructor.

To ensure you are receiving certified quality First Aid Training both the training provider and instructor should be currently certified with the FAIB.

You are able to check the current status of both the provider and instructor on the www.faib.co.uk website,

• FAW Cornwall Training Provider Member No:72/25 (1133) - valid until 01 Nov 2026

• Calum Beeson Trainer/Assessor Member No: 2653 - Valid until 01 Nov 2026