Do You Need a Defibrillator? What the New First Aid Standard Really Says
From 30 April 2026, an amendment to the British Standard for workplace first aid kits, BS 8599-1:2019+A1:2026, introduced a new expectation: any site with five or more people present should have a defibrillator retrievable within two minutes. It's not a legal requirement, but it does raise the bar for what “adequate” first aid provision looks like. This article explains what's changed and what employers should be doing about it.
First Aid at Work
The HSE has updated its guidance on compliance with the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 to include the need to emphasise employers’ responsibilities to take account of employees’ mental health in their first aid needs assessment.
Does my workplace need an AED?
Survival chances following cardiac arrest decrease by 10% for every minute that goes by without CPR or a defibrillator being used.