- szkolenia BHP
- first aid at work
- recovery position
- OHS training
A coworker slides to the floor and does not respond. Should you turn them onto their side right away? No. First secure the scene, check for a reaction, call for help and assess breathing, because using the recovery position instead of CPR can delay life-saving treatment.
If this is a real emergency, call 112 or 999 and follow the dispatcher's instructions. Do not wait until you have read this entire article. This guide describes how to help an adult and is meant to prepare you for action; it does not replace hands-on training or the guidance of emergency services.
In a company, such an incident can happen at a desk as well as on the shop floor. Not every loss of consciousness results from an injury, and not every movement of the chest means normal breathing. That is why the more important question is not how to arrange the arms and legs, but whether placing the person on their side is appropriate at all.
The medical part of this guide is based on materials from the Polish Ministry of Health and the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) 2025 Guidelines, available in a Polish translation by the Polish Resuscitation Council (PRC). Medical recommendations are not statutes. Employer duties are covered separately, with their legal basis cited.
1. When to use the recovery position, and when not to?
The recovery position is a stable placement of a casualty on their side that helps keep the airway open. It is used for a person with a decreased level of consciousness, including an unresponsive person, who is breathing normally, does not require CPR and shows no signs of injury. These indications are given in the ERC 2025 first-aid guidelines.
Placing someone on their side helps fluids drain from the mouth, but it does not guarantee safety by itself. It does not remove the cause of the loss of consciousness and does not remove the duty to monitor the person. Someone who was breathing normally moments ago may stop breathing or start breathing abnormally.
The key distinction looks as follows:
| What do you find? | What is the right action? |
|---|---|
| Person unresponsive, breathing normally, no suspected injury | Call for help, place on the side and keep monitoring breathing |
| Person unresponsive and not breathing or breathing abnormally | Call for help, start CPR and use an available AED |
| Person unresponsive, breathing normally, but you suspect an injury | Do not routinely turn onto the side; limit movement and follow the dispatcher's instructions |
| Person is conscious and responds normally | Do not automatically place them in the recovery position; assess the situation and call for help if needed |
The table supports the decision; it does not replace an assessment of the specific incident. If you cannot recognise normal breathing, say so to the dispatcher. Uncertainty is not a reason to assume the casualty is safe and simply wait.
2. What should you do before turning the casualty onto their side?
Before approaching, check for hazards: moving vehicles, running machinery, electricity, smoke or a spilled substance. Do not enter a dangerous area without proper protection. Call others and summon the emergency services. Rescuing another person should not create a second casualty.
If you can approach safely, ask loudly whether everything is all right and gently check for a reaction. If the person does not respond, call 112 or 999 immediately. Use speakerphone; if there are bystanders, ask a specific person to call for help. The ERC 2025 BLS Guidelines recommend sending for help for every unresponsive person, without waiting to confirm abnormal breathing.
While waiting for the call to connect, open the airway and assess breathing. In an adult with no suspected injury, place one hand on the forehead, gently tilt the head back and lift the chin with the fingers of your other hand. Watch the chest, listen and try to feel for breathing. The assessment should take no longer than 10 seconds (ERC 2025 Guidelines, first aid).
Occasional gasps, irregular catching of breath, slow breaths with great effort or panting are not evidence of normal breathing. They can be agonal breathing, which occurs in cardiac arrest. In an unresponsive adult with such breathing, CPR and an AED are needed, not the recovery position. The ERC 2025 BLS Guidelines also emphasise that breathing must be assessed after a short seizure - the seizure itself does not exclude cardiac arrest.
If an adult does not respond and is not breathing normally, start compressing the centre of the chest following the dispatcher's instructions. A person trained in rescue breaths uses 30 compressions and 2 breaths; if you cannot give breaths, do compressions only. Ask someone to bring an AED and follow its voice prompts. Do not postpone these actions in order to practise turning the casualty.
3. How do you place an adult in the recovery position?
The instructions below apply to an adult who is unresponsive, breathing normally and shows no signs of injury. Help has already been called. It is a practical description of the placement shown in the Ministry of Health material, written in our own words.
- Prepare the position. Kneel next to the person lying on their back. Straighten their legs and remove glasses if they wear them. Move the nearer arm away from the torso at a right angle, bend it at the elbow, and turn the palm upward.
- Support the cheek. Bring the far arm across the chest. Hold the back of that hand against the cheek on your side. Do not let go of that hand while turning.
- Bend the far leg and turn the torso. With your other hand, grasp the far leg above the knee. Pull the knee up, keeping the foot on the ground, then pull the leg towards you, turning the casualty onto their side.
- Stabilise the position and the airway. Place the bent leg so it supports the body on its side. Gently tilt the head back, keeping the hand under the cheek. Point the mouth towards the ground so fluids can drain.
- Reassess breathing. Check whether the person still breathes normally after turning and that nothing presses on the chest. Stay with them and watch their breathing until emergency responders take over.
What matters is a stable position and an open airway, not recreating a photograph down to the centimetre. If the position makes it hard to watch the breathing, adjust it and use the dispatcher's help. It is worth practising this skill under an instructor's guidance, because only practice shows how to support the head and control the turn.
4. What changes when an injury is suspected or breathing worsens?
A fall from height, a collision, a head impact or a crush injury call for a different approach than a sudden collapse without injury. Do not routinely use the recovery position for a person after an injury. The ERC 2025 Guidelines recommend limiting cervical spine movements while, at the same time, describing the need to open the airway when necessary.
This does not mean a "never move the person at any cost" rule. If the casualty is vomiting, the airway is at risk or the location is dangerous, a change of position may be needed. Describe the situation to the dispatcher immediately and follow their instructions, limiting unnecessary movement. Turning a person with a suspected injury, when it is necessary, requires particular care; the simple instructions above should not be treated as a universal post-trauma technique.
After placing the person on their side, keep monitoring breathing, not just the appearance of the face or the skin colour. The ERC 2025 Guidelines recommend re-assessing for airway obstruction and abnormal or agonal breathing. The mere fact that the casualty lies stably does not indicate improvement.
If breathing disappears, becomes abnormal, or you are not sure it is normal, do not leave the person in the recovery position. Tell the dispatcher about the change, place them on their back and start CPR following their guidance. Never give an unresponsive person anything by mouth. Stay with them unless you must secure your own safety or otherwise cannot call for help.
5. How do you prepare a team to give first aid at work?
Knowing the recovery position is one skill; organising first aid in a workplace is a broader task. The employer must provide the necessary means, designate employees to give first aid and arrange communication with external emergency services. The number of those people, their training and the equipment should reflect the hazards present in the company (Article 209(1) paras. 1-3 of the Labour Code).
Operating first-aid points and kits on every shift is entrusted to designated, trained employees. In visible locations next to first-aid kits and points there should be instructions and lists of those employees (general OHS regulations). A phone number in a binder alone does not make a team ready to act.
In an in-house drill, it is worth replaying a simple scenario: one person assesses the scene and the casualty's condition, a second person calls for help, and a third guides the responders to the right entrance. This is an organisational proposal, not an additional statutory duty. A drill should focus above all on recognising abnormal breathing and switching to CPR, and only then on the technique of side placement.
We do not develop the full accident-reporting procedure or the equipment of every first-aid kit here. If the incident is work-related, the workplace accident guide covers the documentation duties. Rescue actions take priority over collecting documents.
FAQ - the recovery position
Do "recovery position" and "lateral safety position" mean the same thing?
In this guide, both terms refer to a stable placement on the side of a person with a decreased level of consciousness who is breathing normally and shows no signs of injury. What matters most is keeping the airway open and continued monitoring.
Should every unresponsive person be placed on their side?
No. When a person does not respond and is not breathing normally, they need CPR and an available AED. After an injury, the recovery position is likewise not applied automatically. The decision on side placement depends on breathing, circumstances and hazards, not on the loss of consciousness itself.
Are occasional gasps normal breathing?
They should not be treated as such. Rare, irregular gasps or catching of breath can be agonal breathing. If a person is unresponsive and breathing abnormally, call for help and start CPR following the dispatcher's instructions.
Should you check breathing first or call for help first?
According to the ERC 2025 BLS Guidelines, help should be called immediately for an unresponsive person. After dialling the emergency number, assess breathing while waiting for the call to connect. Speakerphone lets you act and listen to the dispatcher at the same time.
Can you leave a person alone after placing them on their side?
Do not leave them unattended if you can safely stay. Keep checking breathing and inform the dispatcher of any changes. The recovery position is not the end of giving aid, nor a confirmation that the danger has passed.
Does the instruction also cover infants?
No. The described technique applies to an adult. Helping infants and children should be practised on a training course that covers paediatric aid; in a real incident, follow the dispatcher's guidance rather than mechanically transferring the adult instructions.
What is worth remembering?
In a stressful situation, return to three rules:
- Call for help for an unresponsive person, and assess breathing without delay, using the dispatcher's support.
- Place on the side only a person breathing normally with no suspected injury, who does not require CPR.
- Keep monitoring breathing after placement, and if it stops being normal, switch to resuscitation.
Can your employees tell these situations apart and perform the right actions, not just list them on a test? Check Lenax's first aid training and prepare your team for practical action.
Sources
- Polish Ministry of Health - what to do at the scene (Polish). Covers the casualty assessment, the description of the recovery position and handling of abnormal breathing; the order of calling for help reflects the newer ERC 2025 recommendations.
- ERC 2025 first-aid Guidelines, Polish translation by PRC (PDF) (Polish). Indications for the recovery position, the exclusion of injuries and agonal breathing, reassessment, and the priority of an open airway.
- ERC 2025 Guidelines for adult basic life support, Polish translation by PRC (PDF) (Polish). Calling for help without delay, recognising cardiac arrest, CPR and the AED.
- Labour Code - consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026, item 1245 (Polish). Article 209(1) paras. 1-3 sets out the employer's organisational first-aid duties.
- General OHS regulations - consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2003, item 1650, as amended (Polish). Para. 44(3)-(4) covers the operation of first-aid kits and points as well as instructions and employee lists.
Legal and medical status as of 7 October 2026. Educational material for adults; it does not replace hands-on training or the individual judgement of responders. In a real emergency, call 112 or 999 and follow the dispatcher's instructions.