First Aid Policy template

2. Responsibilities

• First aid coordinator ([name/role]): owns this policy, maintains kits and equipment, schedules responder training and certification renewals, and reviews every use of first aid for lessons.
• Trained responders ([names/roles]): hold current certification from [provider, e.g. a nationally recognized program], respond when called, and record every treatment they give.
• Supervisors: know who the on-shift responders are, make sure their shift is never without coverage, and get injuries reported and recorded the same shift.
• All employees: know where the nearest kit is and how to summon a responder ([method]), and report every injury — a bandaged cut still gets reported.

3. First aid kits and equipment

Kits are located at [locations — one per floor/area/vehicle], marked with signage, and never locked during working hours. Contents follow [ANSI/ISEA Z308.1, class and type per your hazards] as the benchmark, adjusted for {{org.name}}'s specific risks: [additions — e.g. burn dressings near hot work, eyewash by chemical use per the applicable standard, trauma dressings near machinery].

• The coordinator checks every kit [monthly]: contents against the checklist inside the lid, expiration dates, and condition — and logs the check.
• Anything used is reported by the user and replaced within [timeframe]; responders note kit usage on the treatment record so restocking is not memory-dependent.
• [If applicable:] An AED is located at [location], checked [frequency] per the manufacturer, and responders are trained in its use.
• Kits contain no oral medications beyond what {{org.name}} has decided to stock per [policy] — responders do not dispense or recommend medication.

4. Trained responders and coverage

{{org.name}} maintains at least [number] certified responder(s) on every shift at every site, sized so that cover survives vacations and turnover. Because [the nearest clinic/hospital is not in near proximity for our hazards / we choose to exceed the baseline], trained responders are how {{org.name}} meets the federal requirement for someone adequately trained to render first aid.

Coverage is checked at the roster, not assumed: when a schedule change, resignation, or lapsed certification would leave a shift without a responder, the supervisor escalates to the coordinator before the shift runs, and the gap is filled by [swap/cover arrangement] rather than discovered by the next casualty.

• Responders are certified through [provider/program] in first aid [and CPR/AED], and recertify before expiration — the coordinator tracks dates at [system].
• The current on-shift responder list is posted at [locations] and kept accurate; "ask around" is not a summoning method.
• Responding is voluntary at the point of recruitment, trained and equipped once accepted, and treated as working time.

5. Responding to an injury or sudden illness

1. 1Make the scene safe before helping — isolate the machine, the traffic, the spill, the power. A second casualty doubles the emergency.
2. 2Summon the on-shift responder via [method] and, for anything beyond clearly minor, call 911 — give the site address as posted by each phone ([address/what3words/gate number]), the location on site, and what happened. When in doubt, call.
3. 3The responder gives care within their training, using the kit and [AED if applicable], and does not go beyond it.
4. 4Send [name/role] to meet EMS at [entrance] and clear the route to the casualty.
5. 5The responder stays with the casualty until handover to EMS, [the clinic], or recovery, and briefs whoever takes over.
6. 6Afterward: the responder completes the treatment record at [location/system], the supervisor starts the incident report the same shift, and used supplies are replaced and sharps or soiled items disposed of per the precautions below.

6. Bloodborne pathogens precautions

Responders designated to give first aid can be occupationally exposed to blood, which brings OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard into play — {{org.name}}'s arrangements are in [the exposure control plan at location], and this section is the working summary.

• Treat all blood and body fluids as infectious — every casualty, every time.
• Gloves from the kit go on before contact with blood or broken skin; use [CPR barrier/face shield] for rescue breaths; wash hands thoroughly after every treatment, gloves or not.
• Clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces per [procedure], and dispose of sharps and soiled dressings in [sharps container/biohazard bag at location] — never in general trash.
• Any exposure — a splash to eyes or mouth, blood on broken skin, a needlestick — is reported immediately to [name/role] for evaluation and follow-up per the exposure control plan, including the hepatitis B vaccination arrangements it describes.

7. Recording, reporting, and review

Every first aid treatment is recorded — casualty, date, time, injury, care given, responder — at [location/system], and feeds the incident report for the same event. [Name/role] determines under the OSHA injury and illness reporting procedure whether the case is recordable or reportable to OSHA; first-aid-only cases stay off the 300 log but never off our internal log. Treatment records contain health information and are stored with access limited to [roles].

The coordinator reviews this policy [frequency, e.g. annually], after any serious incident or any response that went badly, and when staffing, layout, or hazards change. Kit locations, responder numbers, and training levels are re-checked against the hazards each review. Owner: [name/role]. Next review due: [date].