Form library · Health and safety
First aid needs assessment template
For people assessing workplace first-aid provision. Record work and people, access and cover and provision decided. Try the form below, see every question or download a blank PDF or Word copy.
Ready to use from the form library, and every question is yours to edit. Trial from £1, cancel any time.
Try it on your phone
Try it on this phone
Fill in the first aid needs assessment on your phone now
See how the first aid needs assessment looks on your phone
Scan the code with your phone camera. It opens the real form, no sign-up needed.
Open the live example and fill it in, just as your team would on site. No sign-up needed.
See it on this phoneEvery question is editable. Add this form to your account, then change the wording, add or remove questions and options, and make it fit your own jobs.
Must first aid needs be recorded on a written form?
HSE says first aid provision should be adequate and appropriate for the circumstances. A needs assessment informs the equipment, facilities and personnel required. HSE also says the findings do not have to be written down, although a record helps explain the arrangements chosen.
Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 6 October 2026 against HSE assessing first aid needs and HSE first aid legislation.
Try the first aid needs assessment form live
Answer a few questions and watch it adapt. Your answers are not saved, and any photos you add are deleted within the hour.
This is the real form as your team would use it: questions appear as you answer, scores work themselves out and you can add photos and signatures. No sign-up needed.
Want to see one filled in? See a completed first aid needs assessment report (PDF), made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit.
Fill it in on a phone or tablet
Your team completes the first aid needs assessment on site in the SiteSurvey app on iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets. The project name and address fill in for them, it works without signal, and it syncs when the device is back online with photos kept against the question they answer.
Customers and subcontractors do not need the app: send them a link and they can fill it in from any browser.
Every question in the first aid needs assessment template
A first aid needs record covering work hazards, staffing and shifts, absence cover, remote work, equipment, facilities and agreed provision. 5 sections and 30 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.
Make it your own: every question is editable
This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.
Details you only enter once
Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.
- Project: the project name
- Site or premises address: the site address, from the space or the project
- Client or organisation: the project's customer
Record details and scope
- ProjectShort answer
Filled in from the project in SiteSurvey.
Fills in from the project name - Site or premises addressShort answerFills in from the site address, from the space or the project
- Client or organisationShort answerFills in from the project's customer
- Record date*Date
- Person completing the record*Short answer
- CheckThis records the employer assessment and rationale. It does not give a universal staffing ratio, provide clinical advice or certify first-aider competence.
- CheckHSE says first aid provision should be adequate and appropriate for the circumstances. A needs assessment informs the equipment, facilities and personnel required. HSE also says the findings do not have to be written down, although a record helps explain the arrangements chosen.
Work and people
- Work activities and hazards*Notes
- Typical number of workers presentNumber
- Shifts, lone work, remote work and travel*Notes
- Relevant accident and incident patterns without identifiable patient detailsNotes
- Contractors, visitors and public who may need helpNotes
Access and cover
- Access to emergency medical services and site directions*Notes
- Cover for absence, holidays and each shift*Notes
Consider the working pattern and gaps in coverage rather than recording only a headcount. Identify arrangements that need confirmation.
- Arrangements on shared or multi-occupancy sitesNotes
- Site-specific first aid risks or provision needsNotes
Provision decided
- First-aiders or appointed persons and basis for the decision*Notes
- Equipment and kit locations*Notes
- Facilities and communication arrangementsNotes
- Training requirements and evidence referencesNotes
- Review triggers and person responsibleNotes
Actions and review
- Are further actions required?*Choose one
- Yes
- No
- Further actionRepeat for each further action. Each one asks:Shown when “Are further actions required?” is “Yes”
- Action and evidence reference*Notes
- Person responsible*Short answer
- Target dateDate
- Action status*Choose one
- Open
- In progress
- Completed
- Completion evidence*NotesShown when “Action status” is “Completed”
- Outstanding limitations and information to pass onNotes
- Record status*Choose one
- Ready for review
- Further work needed
- Work or use stopped
- Reviewed byShort answer
- Review dateDate
- Author signature*Signature
- CheckSigning records the information entered. It does not itself certify legal compliance, remove a limitation or authorise unsafe work.
Scope and responsibility
This records the employer assessment and rationale. It does not give a universal staffing ratio, provide clinical advice or certify first-aider competence.
What a useful entry looks like
Cover for absence, holidays and each shift
Consider the working pattern and gaps in coverage rather than recording only a headcount. Identify arrangements that need confirmation.
Early shift starts before the current first aider arrives. Cover for 06:00–08:00 and planned leave needs to be resolved by the site manager.
Fictional example of record wording. Use the actual evidence and approved arrangements for your job; this is not a completed report or an instruction to carry out the work.
See it filled in
A completed first aid needs assessment report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.
First Aid Needs Assessment FAQs
How should I record “Cover for absence, holidays and each shift”?
Consider the working pattern and gaps in coverage rather than recording only a headcount. Identify arrangements that need confirmation.
Is this the first aid kit checklist?
No. This assessment explains what provision the workplace needs. Use the kit checklist to inspect the contents and condition of a particular kit.
Does it calculate how many first-aiders I need?
No. The employer records the decision and its basis, considering hazards, workforce and coverage.
Should it contain patient records?
No. Use anonymised incident patterns where relevant. Individual treatment and health records require their own appropriate handling.
What are the limits of this template?
This records the employer assessment and rationale. It does not give a universal staffing ratio, provide clinical advice or certify first-aider competence.
Can I complete this form on site and share the record?
In the SiteSurvey app the form works offline, with signatures recorded against the questions. Share the completed record as a PDF or a link. Dates and action owners are recorded fields; this form does not send reminders or update other systems.
Related
Related templates
Templates that go with the first aid needs assessment form
An emergency shower readiness record covering station access, condition, approved test results, water-supply concerns, defects and follow-up actions.
An eyewash readiness record covering station identity, access, equipment condition, fluid dates, authorised checks and arrangements for defects.
Use this first aid needs assessment form with your team
Add it from the form library in one click, change any question, and every completed form becomes a branded PDF report.
Start your trial →