One of the UK’s leading safety equipment manufacturers, Stockport-based Safetyshop, has called on businesses to make sure they take the right steps to protect the health and safety of their employees by making suitable first aid kits available.

To help make sure the correct first aid can be provided in the event of an accident at work, the British Healthcare Trade Association (BHTA) has worked together with the British Standards Institute (BSI) to create a new UK standard for workplace kits.

BS 8599-1 is the new minimum standard that workplace first aid kits should now conform to, and Safetyshop has reminded businesses to check their own supplies and, if necessary, update their stocks.

Dan Cure, website manager at Safetyshop, said: “Over recent years there have been many changes to the way first aiders are trained to deal with casualties following an accident.

“The types of risks that British workers are exposed to on a daily basis have also changed dramatically and so it has been necessary to update the guidance on what first aid products should be available to help treat people following an accident.”

The new standard created by the BSI and the BHTA has been based on the minimum requirements set out by the Health and Safety Executive’s L74 first aid code of practice. The idea was to ensure minimum-standard compliant kits now allow first aiders to cope with a wider range of common workplace injuries, therefore making them more relevant for today’s businesses.

Safetyshop supplies a wide range of safety products, from industrial first aid kits to sports first aid kits, allowing businesses to provide their staff with access to BSI compliant products and help ensure that health and safety remains a top priority.

Dan added: “As all employers know, accidents can happen at any time and that is why it is so important to be proactive and make sure that should an incident occur, there are people on hand who have the correct first aid training, and that they have the correct items to hand to allow them to provide the necessary treatment.”

Via EPR Network
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