First Aid at Work Study Guide (UK) 2026

First aid at work in Great Britain

The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require employers to provide adequate and appropriate first-aid equipment, facilities and people. The minimum is a suitably stocked first-aid kit, an appointed person to take charge of first aid arrangements, and information for employees.

An appointed person does not need first aid training. They look after the equipment and call the emergency services when needed. A workplace with higher risks may need trained first-aiders.

There is no single government exam. Employers choose a competent training provider, and the provider assesses you. Training should follow current Resuscitation Council UK guidelines and the First Aid Manual of St John Ambulance, British Red Cross and St Andrew's First Aid. HSE strongly recommends annual refresher training.

There is no fixed list for a first-aid box. Contents should match your workplace's needs assessment. HSE recommends that you do not keep tablets or medicines in it. For low-risk workplaces, HSE suggests a minimum such as:

• A leaflet giving general first aid guidance
• 20 individually wrapped sterile plasters of assorted sizes
• 2 sterile eye pads
• 4 individually wrapped triangular bandages
• 6 safety pins
• 2 large and 6 medium sterile, unmedicated wound dressings
• At least 3 pairs of disposable gloves

The primary survey: DR ABC

The primary survey is a quick check to find and treat life-threatening problems in the right order. Before you touch anyone, think about your own safety. Wear disposable gloves if you have them, to protect both you and the casualty from infection. If the casualty is awake, tell them who you are and ask if you can help.

If there is life-threatening bleeding, press on the wound straight away, before checking the airway, and call for help.

Under the 2025 Resuscitation Council UK guidelines, call 999 (or 112) for any unresponsive person without delay. Put your phone on speaker and check breathing while the call connects. The call handler will help you.

Slow or laboured breathing, occasional gasps or panting are not normal breathing. A short seizure-like episode can also happen when the heart first stops. If you are in doubt, assume cardiac arrest and start CPR.

After the primary survey, do a secondary survey: a top-to-toe check for other injuries and illness.

CPR and defibrillation

• Push at 100 to 120 compressions per minute.
• If trained, give 30 compressions, then 2 rescue breaths, each just enough to make the chest rise.
• If you are not trained in rescue breaths, give continuous compressions.
• If you cannot get air in after two attempts, think about choking.

Defibrillators (AEDs)

When the heart stops, it often goes into a chaotic rhythm. A defibrillator gives an electric shock that can restore a normal rhythm. CPR keeps some blood flowing to the brain until the shock is given, so do both as early as you can.

Anyone can use an AED. Switch it on and follow the prompts. The ambulance service can direct you to the nearest AED on The Circuit, the national defibrillator database.

• Attach pads to bare skin. Remove a bra only if it stops you placing the pads correctly.
• If there are two of you, keep doing CPR while the pads go on.
• Nobody touches the casualty during analysis or the shock.
• Restart compressions straight away after a shock, or straight away if no shock is advised.

Children and infants

Under the 2025 paediatric guidelines, open the airway and give 5 initial rescue breaths. For an infant, cover the mouth and nose with your mouth. If there are no signs of life, start compressions. If you are trained only in adult CPR, use the adult sequence you know, with changes for a child. If you are alone with no phone, do about 1 minute of CPR before going for help.

Helping in a cardiac arrest can be upsetting. The 2025 guidelines recognise that rescuers and bystanders may need support afterwards.

Choking

Choking happens when food or an object blocks the airway. A casualty with a mild blockage can usually speak, cough and breathe. A casualty with a severe blockage cannot speak, has a weak or silent cough, and may not be able to breathe.

If the casualty can cough effectively, encourage them to keep coughing and watch closely. If the cough becomes ineffective and they cannot breathe, act at once.

1. Give up to 5 back blows: lean them forward and strike between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand.
2. Then give up to 5 abdominal thrusts.
3. If it has not cleared, call 999 and keep alternating 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts.
4. If they become unconscious, start CPR.

Do not do blind finger sweeps. For a baby under 1 year, use back blows and chest thrusts, not abdominal thrusts.

The recovery position

Use the recovery position for someone with reduced responsiveness who is breathing normally. Do not use it for someone who is only gasping: they need CPR.

Keep checking their breathing until help arrives.

Severe bleeding

• Call 999 and press firmly on the wound.
• A haemostatic dressing with firm pressure helps blood clot. Use a standard dressing if you do not have one.
• If direct pressure fails on a limb, apply a tourniquet 5 to 7 cm above the wound, not over a joint, and tighten until the bleeding stops.
• Note the time. Do not loosen it: only a healthcare professional should release it.
• If bleeding continues, a second tourniquet above the first may be needed.

Burns and scalds

• Cool the burn under cool running water for 20 minutes, as soon as possible and within 3 hours.
• No running water? Use cool bottled water or a wet towel.
• Remove clothing or jewellery near the burn, unless it is stuck to the skin.
• After cooling, lay cling film over the burn. Do not wrap it round.
• Do not use creams, oils or butter. Do not burst blisters or use sticky plasters.
• Call 999 or go to A&E for large or deep burns, burns on the face, genitals or bottom, and chemical or electrical burns.

Head, spine and bone injuries

Suspect a spinal injury after a fall from height, a road traffic collision, a crush injury or a sporting accident. Keep neck movement to a minimum. If the casualty is unresponsive and you need to open the airway, use a jaw thrust. Neck collars are not for general first aiders.

Anyone with a possible concussion should stop physical activity and be referred to a healthcare professional. For a possible broken bone, support the injured part in the position found and keep it still.

Sudden illness

Stroke

Use FAST: Face, Arms, Speech, Time to call 999.

Chest pain

Call 999. Help the casualty take 300 mg of aspirin, chewed or dissolved, unless they have a known allergy. Help someone with known angina use their own GTN (nitroglycerine).

Asthma and anaphylaxis

Help a person with asthma use their own reliever inhaler, with a spacer if available. For anaphylaxis, call 999 and give adrenaline with an auto-injector into the outer thigh as soon as possible. If symptoms continue 5 minutes later, give a second dose, ideally in the other leg.

Low blood sugar

If the person is awake and can swallow, give 15 to 20 g of glucose or dextrose tablets. Repeat after 15 minutes if symptoms continue. Never give sugar by mouth to an unresponsive person.

Seizures

Protect the person from harm, cushion the head and time the seizure. Do not restrain them or put anything in their mouth. Call 999 if it is a first seizure or it lasts more than 5 minutes. Afterwards, put them in the recovery position and stay with them.

Opioid overdose

Signs include slow or no breathing, extreme drowsiness and very small pupils. Call 999, start CPR if they are not breathing normally, and give naloxone if you are trained.

Heat, cold and water

• Heatstroke: cool first, transfer second. The best method is immersing the body from the neck down in cold water.
• Hypothermia: shield from wind, remove wet clothing and insulate with dry blankets, including underneath the person.
• Drowning: do not go into the water unless trained; reach with something that floats. On land, trained rescuers give 5 rescue breaths, then CPR, and use an AED.

Putting it together: worked examples

Course assessments often describe a short scene and ask what you should do next. These worked examples show how to think through them.

A colleague collapses in the office

1. Check for danger: is anything still a risk, such as cables or a wet floor?
2. Check for a response: gently shake the shoulders and ask loudly, "Are you OK?"
3. No response: call 999 straight away, on speaker, and send someone for the AED.
4. Open the airway and check breathing while the call connects, for up to 10 seconds.
5. Not breathing normally, or only gasping: start CPR and use the AED as soon as it arrives.

A worker cuts their forearm badly on a machine

Make sure the machine is off and the area is safe. Put on gloves. Press firmly on the wound and call 999. If direct pressure does not control life-threatening bleeding, apply a tourniquet 5 to 7 cm above the wound and note the time. Watch for signs that the casualty is getting worse, and keep them warm.

A visitor eats a cake and their lips swell

Think of anaphylaxis, especially if they have trouble breathing. Call 999. If they carry an adrenaline auto-injector, help them use it in the outer thigh. If they are no better after 5 minutes and they have a second auto-injector, give it in the other leg. Be ready to start CPR.

Shock

Shock means the body's organs are not getting enough blood. It can follow severe bleeding, burns or anaphylaxis. Call 999, treat the cause, reassure the casualty and keep them warm and still while you wait.

Key numbers to remember