How should construction managers prepare for medical emergencies and trauma response on site, and what rules do they need to follow? Mike Dowson explains
Construction professionals manage risk through established health and safety systems designed to prevent harm on site. However, compliance and prevention measures cannot eliminate all incidents, including cardiac arrest. When a serious medical emergency occurs, preparedness and speed become critical.
What you will learn in this CPD
- Key legislation including the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025.
- Where to position defibrillators and bleed kits, and plan for emergency response.
- Building workforce readiness through first aid training and familiarisation.
In cases of cardiac arrest or severe bleeding, seconds matter and death can occur before emergency services arrive.
Growing awareness of this ‘care gap’ has shaped public expectations. Widespread installation of public access automated external defibrillators (AEDs) has demonstrated how early intervention saves lives; over 100,000 are registered on the emergency services-linked network The Circuit, and public bleed control provision is following a similar trajectory with Bleed Map.
An opportunity for increased site safety
While AEDs and sufficient first aid equipment should be practicable within a risk assessment context, there are no specific legal requirements. Will one defibrillator be sufficient on a large site, or would two be safer? What are ambulance response times in the area?
On city centre construction projects, contractors such as Graham and GMI Construction have joined the public bleed control conversation by installing cabinets on external hoarding. Emergency services can direct the public to the bleed kit inside while it remains accessible to the on-site team.
Winvic Construction has taken inspiration from the compact lifesaving bags and selected to place large bespoke trauma response kits on its sites in November 2025 and deliver additional training (see case study box).
This does not alter core legal duties or shift responsibility away from emergency services. It does, however, prompt closer consideration of how sites are planned and equipped for cross-contractor teams to act swiftly when an incident occurs.
Why the first minutes are critical
Catastrophic bleeding and cardiac arrest are time-critical emergencies where fast action saves lives. Preparedness becomes meaningful when planning becomes practice.
In cardiac arrest, the heart stops pumping effectively and immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) combined with rapid defibrillation offers the best chance of survival. In the UK, ambulance services attempt resuscitation in around 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year, yet fewer than one in ten people survive. With every minute without defibrillation, survival chances reduce by around 10%, so equipment must be quick to retrieve.
Modern defibrillators guide users with voice and visual prompts, analysing heart rhythm and delivering a shock only if required. They are engineered so non-medical responders can act safely, and public bleed kits are designed for untrained users.
The first UK bleed control kits were created by The Daniel Baird Foundation with West Midlands Ambulance Service following the fatal stabbing of Daniel Baird in Birmingham. They contain clear instructions and an injury body map, enabling untrained users to select the correct component for a limb or chest wound and control severe bleeding quickly.
Uncontrolled blood loss can lead to loss of life in under three minutes, so rapid action is essential until emergency services arrive. The items in kits are routinely used by paramedics and the military, helping address the care gap.
Public Access Trauma (PAcT) Kits are being adopted by venues in response to the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn’s Law. While they contain many of the same components as standard bleed kits, they include multiples of each item to reflect the potential scale of an incident. The Manchester Arena attack, which prompted the legislation, exposed gaps in preparedness and access to emergency equipment.
Construction, as a higher-risk industry, can draw lessons from measures being implemented in venues.
Emergency response as a project decision
The effectiveness of any response is shaped by decisions made during project planning, site setup, training and communications. Beyond equipment, site layout, access routes, signage and briefings influence response speed. Consider:
- Checking theoretical response times – how long does it take to retrieve an AED or emergency trauma kit from different areas on site?
- The best location for speed of response – if retrieval time is not sufficiently rapid, should equipment be relocated or additional medical points introduced to ensure coverage across the site?
- Access changing as construction progresses – do equipment locations need to be revised as the scheme evolves?
- Keeping everyone up to date – how can changes in equipment location be clearly communicated and signposted?
- Gaining feedback – can contractors and operatives confirm they know where the nearest equipment is located?
Under pressure, lost time can mean the difference between life and death.
Training, certification and capability in practice
The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require employers to provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure employees receive immediate attention if injured or taken ill at work.
For construction teams, a three-day First Aid at Work (FAW) course covers bleeding injuries and AED use and meets regulatory requirements. It is not practicable to train all staff to this level and HSE guidance requires:
- 5 to 50 employees – at least one first-aider trained in FAW
- 50+ employees – at least one first-aider trained in FAW for every 50 employees (or part thereof)
While statutory requirements provide a baseline, enhanced preparedness requires broader capability.
Emergency response may be viewed as the responsibility of trained first aiders or the ambulance service. In practice, others are often first on the scene. Modern AEDs and bleed control kits are designed for untrained responders; prior training or familiarity reduces hesitation and improves response time.
Contractors providing practical briefings, familiarisation sessions and digital content can reduce uncertainty when it matters most. Consider:
- Clarity of messaging – give people confidence and permission to act, while ensuring emergency services are called immediately.
- Utilising existing resources – emergency services, charities and manufacturers provide instructional materials.
- Encouraging internal advocacy – team members with relevant experience can reinforce the importance of rapid action.
By integrating formal certification with proportionate familiarisation, construction teams can remain compliant while strengthening response capability and professional standards.
Social value: big ideas
Raising awareness and providing additional training can benefit local communities. Organisations such as The Daniel Baird Foundation and Heartbeat Trust UK offer talks and training focused on bleed control and cardiac arrest response. A donation can fund knife crime awareness and bleed kit training in a local secondary school.
Social value activity is about delivering meaningful impact within host communities. Providing access to life-saving equipment and training is a tangible project contribution. Contractors could:
- Install a cabinet on external hoarding for 24/7 public access to an emergency bleed control kit and register it on The National Bleed Kit Network so emergency services can direct people to it.
- Install a wind and solar powered AED and bleed control cabinet to safeguard teams before permanent power is available and support communities long term.
- Donate AEDs or bleed kits to the local community at project completion, rehoming equipment from site offices or vehicles in public cabinets at schools, churches or convenience stores.
Effective emergency response is shaped long before an incident takes place. Through deliberate planning, formal training and broader workforce awareness of equipment and procedures, contractors can ensure every single person is confidently prepared to act when it matters most.
Winvic Construction’s bespoke emergency trauma response kit – what’s inside and why?
Winvic’s HSEQ team approached Turtle Medical, producer of The Daniel Baird Foundation bleed control kits and Enhanced PAcT kits aligned with Martyn’s Law, to develop a bespoke medical kit for construction sites. The contractor sought guidance on equipment required to manage catastrophic bleeding injuries and burns resulting in a bespoke kit supplied in a Winvic-branded bag.
In addition to shears, foil blankets, bandages and protective components such as CPR face shields and gloves, the kit contains multiples of key bleeding control items:
- Tourniquet – applied above a limb wound and tightened to reduce or stop blood flow.
- Haemostatic gauze – packed firmly into a deep wound and used with direct pressure to promote blood clotting.
- Trauma dressing – placed over haemostatic gauze or directly onto a smaller wound to maintain compression.
- Vented chest seal – applied to penetrating chest injuries to prevent air entering the chest cavity and compromising breathing.
To increase familiarity with items found in the kits – therefore boosting confidence and speed of response in an emergency – Winvic team members have been undertaking a bespoke 1-day trauma response course. The medical emergency training which covers catastrophic bleeds, burns and other similar injuries is designed to strengthen skills and is an addition to regulatory first aid certification.
Renewable power and GPS tech help with AED deployment
Construction projects present challenges for AED deployment, particularly power supply and asset security.
Defibrillators should be stored above 10 degrees Celsius to ensure pad function, and to protect the battery from low temperatures. External defibrillator cabinets are therefore heated, yet many locations lack a reliable power source, from rural villages and urban parks to golf courses and infrastructure sites.
While site offices may maintain correct storage temperatures, early project phases or large schemes without power can leave teams vulnerable. To address this, Turtle Medical developed a wind and solar powered defibrillator cabinet, with a solar-only model available for temporary installation on construction schemes.
Power supply is not the only operational challenge. AEDs can be misplaced, relocated without record or stolen, and after deployment it can be difficult to confirm their location. Replacement costs are significant, but the greater risk is absence of life-saving equipment when required.
DefibTrack’s live GPS and online portal enable movement alerts and real-time location monitoring. Winvic is currently trialling the technology which supports asset oversight across complex and multi-phase construction sites and helps maintain continuous equipment availability.
Mike Dowson is founder and managing director of Turtle Medical.
