Law on First Aid Kits

How many First Aid Kits should we have on or company premises?

  • On any site where 5 or more persons are employed a first aid box or boxes the content of which is regulated in terms of minimums for both offices and factories must be made available and kept up to standard and be accessible in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1993 general safety regulations (sec 3).
  • 1 First Aid Box for every 20 staff members.

What type of First Aid Kit is suitable for our company?

  • There are many types of containers to house your contents available on the market. Choose the best one to suite your needs/ purposes and type of business. Fixed location wall mounted units are best for factory environments. Portable units are best for areas such as offices/ schools/vehicles etc.
  • All first Aid kits should have an element of portability so as to take a kit to a victim if necessary.

Where should First Aid Kits be placed at our company?

  • All first aid kits should be easily accessible throughout all working hours without any obstructions around the location of the kit. In larger factory areas, kits should be placed in all high risk areas.

What additional items should I have in the First Aid Kit?

  • If you are in an industry where you are working with food, the law requires that you only use Blue Detectable Plaster strips instead of flesh coloured plasters. Items for burn injuries/ Rescue Blanket / Antiseptic ointment and eye wash bottle or station where chemicals are involved.

What medications can be kept in the First Aid Kits?

  • No form of oral or topical scheduled medications are allowed to be kept in your First Aid Station.
  • This includes all pain killers in any form or type. As you do not know the history of the patient, you are not allowed to dispense any form of medication for any particular ailment. You can be held liable for any adverse effects your patient may encounter and can be involved in unnecessary law suites. Rather suggest your staff get the necessary medication from a pharmacist.

How do we control the items used in the kits, and can they be locked?

  • An incident report book can be used to not only monitor injuries on the premises, but also to monitor items used for the specific injury signed off by the First Aider in charge.
  • First Aid Stations are NOT allowed to be locked, you can however use cable ties or similar devices to control use. Using a combination lock is allowed – as long as the combination code is readily available by First Aiders in charge of the station or by management. This option will at least prevent keys from being lost or misplaced. But remember- time is of the essence when you need to use your kit in an emergency.

Who should be responsible for the First Aid Kit?

  • A qualified First Aider with a valid certificate should take charge of the First Aid Kit. The First aider can monitor any injuries and administer the correct procedure for the incident. By making a First Aider responsible for their First Aid Kits, this will minimise abuse of contents. The name of the First Aider on duty, and his/her contact number should appear on the outside of the first aid box for quick response.

How often should the First Aid Kit be serviced?

  • First Aid kits should be checked on regular bases to ensure items have not expired and that the required regulation items are still in the kit. This should be done on a monthly bases where kits are used more often.

Should our Company Vehicles have a First Aid Kit in them?

If your staff are conducting or operating your continued business from the vehicle- such as plumbers/electricians/ contractors/ builders etc., a regulation kit will be required to be kept in the vehicle that will serve the staff members working on site. Contractors should show by means of the First Aid cross sign that such a kit is available on the vehicle.