First aid equipment

First aid equipment shall be available at all times at the workplace to all employees, including in motor vehicles (e.g. car, bus, tractor), mobile machinery and special machinery owned by the employer. An unlocked locker or portable first aid case shall be located in a room easily accessible to employees, the first aid equipment shall be marked with a safety sign (white cross on a green background), no obstructions shall be placed in front of it and there shall always be sufficient first aid supplies in the locker or case. The amount of necessary first aid equipment depends on the number of employees.

Different work activities involve different hazards and thus different first aid equipment is needed in working environments. Some workplaces (e.g. offices, libraries) pose a relatively low level of risk, while other workplaces (e.g. factories, construction sites) often include a higher risk or a specific hazard. Therefore, the list, quantity and location of first aid equipment required depends on many factors, including the size of the enterprise, the number of employees, the risks involved, the availability of medical services, the dispersion of employees in the workplace, employees in isolated workplaces, etc. The employer shall ensure that first aid equipment meeting the needs of the enterprise is available in the required amount.

Workplaces where the risk assessment has identified the risk of corrosive and other hazardous chemicals coming into contact with skin or risk of skin burns shall have access to running tap water. Its location shall be as close as possible to the site of the hazardous process.

If there is a risk of foreign bodies or chemicals coming into contact with the eyes in the workplace, the possibility of using an eyewash station shall be ensured. The location of the eyewash station shall be marked with an appropriate safety sign. The eyewash station shall be located directly at the place where hazardous chemicals are used, because if the chemical comes into contact with an employee’s eyes, the employee cannot go to another room or other end of the shop to look for the eyewash station.

If there is a risk of dangerous substances coming into contact with clothing or risk of clothing catching fire in a workplace, there shall be a device in an easily accessible place for rinsing the victim quickly with water or for extinguishing the clothing. The location of such a device shall be marked with an appropriate safety sign.

The first aid locker shall contain no medicinal products, as an employee may not be aware of the unsuitability of a medicinal product that he or she is not familiar with or of the chance of allergies.

Therefore, if a person takes any medicinal products, he or she should carry them with him or her and not keep them in the first aid kit.

First aid signs used to indicate the location of first aid equipment have been provided in the regulation of the Minister of Social Affairs, “Requirements concerning the provision of safety signs in the workplace”.

The provider of first aid shall regularly check the availability of first aid equipment and its compliance with the needs of the enterprise.

A list of examples of first aid equipment helps an employer to select first aid equipment. This list is an example and includes equipment for providing first aid in the case of different bodily injuries. Depending on the nature of the enterprise’s activities and risk level, the employer may omit some first aid equipment or acquire larger quantities. The amount of first aid equipment should be sufficient to cover the potential need of an enterprise with a larger number of employees or its separate structural unit.

The employer also has the possibility to use first aid equipment which is not included in this list, but which may be necessary and suitable for the provision of first aid due to the specifics of the workplace, such as an automated external defibrillator (AED).

List of examples of first aid equipment

List of examples of first aid equipment in cars, tractors, mobile and special machinery used for performing duties