Useful Info

Category Of Risk For Employers

Category of Risk

The table below provides guidance for employers but does not replace the requirement to carry out a risk assessment.

How many significant areas does your workplace have

A Significant area is an individual floor or building, but we strongly recom- mend that a kit and a first aider can reach a casualty within 60 seconds of an initial call for assistance

i.e. If you have an office and a ware- house on the same site, this will be a minimum of 2 Significant area;
Office – Low risk
Warehouse – High Risk
Each area needs to be assessed on its own merits

Degree of Hazard

Low Risk

Type of Workplaces

e.g. Shops, Offices, Libraries, Banks, restaurants, food bars, cafeterias

High Risk

e.g. Light engineering, assembly work, ware housing, Public transportation Industry, food processing, construction, slaughter housing, extensive work with dangerous machinery or sharp instruments, working with chemicals, Where large amounts of people accumulate, Tourist Industry or Stadiums.

Specific Risk Factors

  • Disabled employees
  • High instances of specific injuries
  • Lone or remote workers
  • Members of the public on site
  • Multiple floors or buildings
  • Multiple shifts
  • Number of First Aiders
  • Professional drivers
  • Proximity of emergency medical services
  • Proximity of your premises to high risk areas e.g office building nest to gas storage units- their risk then becomes your risk.
  • Public access
  • Variable degrees of risk on the same site
  • Working with children or infants

Please note that there may be occasions where having two kits may be better than one, especially in high risk areas. This will ensure you’re likely to carry the items you need in case of an emergency. If you have several Significant areas, using several smaller kits

This table is for guidance only and each workplace needs to evaluate its own level of risk. Special circumstances also need to be considered such as remoteness from medical services, special hazards such as the use of hydrofluoric acid and sites with several buildings. In these situations there may need to be more first aid kits available.

Contents Guide for the First Aid Kit

The size of the kit required is dependent on a combination of the level of risk and the number of employees in the workplace. Therefore following your risk assessment carried out in the workplace the contents of a first aid kit can be determined.

Where the risk assessment identifies no special risks (Low Risk) a first aid kit would normally contain the following items….

F. A items are comprehensively stocked & compliant with Health & Safety Regulations.

The quantity of each item will be determined by the amount of persons/area of work.

  • First Aid Container – Green
  • Disposable Gloves
  • Sterile Antiseptic Wipe – Non Alcohol
  • Triangular Bandages
  • Hemostatic Bandages/Soft Elastic Bandages/Gauze
  • Bandages/any type
  • Sterile Eye pads
  • Sterile Gauze /dressings/ non adherent dressings
  • Safety Pins
  • Sterile Plasters all sizes and shapes
  • Blue detectable Plasters (food areas)
  • Guidance leaflet
  • EYE IRRIGATION: Where no fresh mains tap water is available, sterile eye wash should be made available for the purpose of eye irrigation.

Should the assessment conclude the need for such items, the employers may include additional materials within the container or kept separate in a First Aid room. This could include, but is not limited to:

  • Additional plasters
  • Additional disposable gloves
  • Blunt tipped scissors – suitable for cutting fabric
  • Burns – Special Gels/spray/Gel Dressings etc.
  • CPR Face Shield
  • Adhesive Tape
  • CPR Mouth Airway Rescue mask
  • Isothermic Blanket hot/cold
  • Oxygen Cylinders
  • Blue Detectable Plasters (food handlers)
  • Instant Ice Pack/spray
  • Ammonia wipes for stings, jelly fish & nettles

No creams, lotions, potions, medicines or tablets are permitted
All first aid containers either detachable Green First Aid box/case OR First Aid cabinets should be identified.

Quantity Guide

MINIMUM ITEMS REQUIRED BY CYPRUS LAW 2009

  • First Aid Items

    1-5 Persons

    6-25 Persons

    26-50 note.1 Persons

    Kits for Cars/Trucks

  • First Aid box –Green
    1
    1
    1
    1
  • Sterile Adhesive Eye Pad
    0
    2
    4

    0

  • Gloves (one use)Sizes M/L/XL
    1
    2
    2
    14
  • Antiseptic Wipes
    8
    8
    10
    8
  • Hemostatic Bandage 18 X 18
    1
    2
    4
     1

  • Hemostatic Bandage 12 x 12

     0
     6
     8
     0
  • Triangular Bandage
    2
    4
    6
    2
  • Assorted Adhesive Plasters
    12
    20
    40
    6
  • Safety Pins
    2
    6
    6
    2
  • F.A. Guidance – Greek/English
    1
    1
    1
    1
  • Eye wash (note 2)
    1
    2
    2
    1

Note 1: When the number of people exceeds 50, the first aid items are evaluated accordingly.
Note 2: When there is no direct drinking water in the workplace, Sterile Eye wash solution should be available or Saline (0.9%) in sealed containers when needed.