St John Ambulance has launched a nationwide awards programme to recognise people who have used first aid skills to save or change a life at work, as new research highlights low confidence among employees facing medical emergencies.
The charity’s inaugural Lifesavers at Work Awards will celebrate workplace heroes who have used first aid skills to save a life or support someone during a medical emergency. Nominations are open to companies and employees, with the first awards ceremony due to take place in November.
The launch follows research commissioned by St John Ambulance, which found that 29% of UK workers have needed first aid treatment in the workplace, while 45% have witnessed a colleague experience a medical emergency. Despite that exposure, many workers do not feel equipped to respond.
Only 40% of workers who witnessed a medical emergency were able to administer first aid themselves. Another 45% helped in other ways, such as calling for assistance. In 3.8% of cases, nobody at the scene felt equipped to do anything at all.
St John Ambulance said all UK businesses are legally required to provide appropriate first aid arrangements depending on size and level of risk, but few employers have trained a significant proportion of their workforce. Many small low-risk employers have little more than a well-stocked first aid box.
Lisa Sharman, Head of Education at St John Ambulance, said: “Medical emergencies can happen anywhere, including in the workplace, and when they do, it’s often the people closest by who make the greatest difference. Yet our research shows that many people still don’t feel confident enough to step in and help. These awards celebrate the everyday people who found the courage to act when it mattered most.
“By recognising their stories, we hope to inspire more people to gain the confidence and practical first aid skills that could one day save the life of a colleague, a loved one or even a stranger. Together, we can create safer workplaces, stronger communities and ultimately, more lives saved.”
The research also found strong public support for recognising lifesavers. Four in five UK workers, at 83%, said lifesavers should be celebrated more than Oscar winners, with 1.8% disagreeing.
When asked which workplace emergencies they would be most worried about facing, workers ranked cardiac arrest highest, cited by 33% of respondents. Choking followed at 10%, and severe bleeding at 8%. One in four UK workers said they do not know who their workplace’s designated first aider is.
The awards will also recognise those who have used skills gained through workplace training to save lives beyond the office, including while working from home or in their communities.
St John Ambulance highlighted the example of Douaa Sultan, a 24-year-old insurance broker from Milton Keynes, who used CPR after her father Hussam collapsed in the garden. She had learned the skill two weeks earlier through a St John Ambulance workplace first aid course and kept him alive for 20 minutes until paramedics arrived. Hussam was discharged from hospital 11 days later and made a full recovery.
Douaa said: “I’m naturally a very anxious person but in that terrifying moment, seeing my dad collapsed on the floor, adrenaline took over and thanks to the training I’d done just two weeks before, I knew exactly what to do”
She added: “I couldn’t talk about that day for a long time afterwards, it was all too raw, but if sharing our story helps more people take up training and potentially save lives, it will be incredible. It has already encouraged my mum to go on a first aid training course and learn those lifesaving skills for herself.”
Her father, Hussam, said: “I’m so proud of my daughter, not just for saving my life, but inspiring others to follow in her footsteps. I wouldn’t be here without her.”
The findings raise a workplace resilience issue that goes beyond compliance. First aid is often treated as a facilities or health and safety requirement, but medical incidents expose the human side of operational preparedness. In an emergency, response time, confidence, training, communication, and knowledge of designated first aiders can affect outcomes before professional help arrives.
Hybrid working adds another layer. Employees may be in offices, warehouses, shops, customer sites, vehicles, co-working spaces, or home offices. Training built around a fixed workplace may not reflect how work is now organised. Employers need to consider not only whether a nominated first aider exists, but whether employees know who that person is, whether coverage is adequate across sites and shifts, and whether remote or lone workers have practical guidance.
Workplace health support is also becoming a more practical part of the employment offer, with many workers prioritising healthcare over traditional perks: Workers want healthcare before workplace perks. First aid belongs within that wider conversation because it deals with immediate risk rather than distant benefit value.
Confidence should be treated as a safety metric. A workplace can meet minimum arrangements and still leave employees unsure what to do in a crisis. Regular refreshers, visible first aider information, scenario based training, defibrillator awareness, and management reinforcement can all improve readiness.
Nominations for the Lifesavers at Work Awards are open until Friday 4 September. The programme gives St John Ambulance a recognition platform, while placing a measurable question in front of employers: whether workers would know how to respond when a colleague, customer, or family member needs help immediately.
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