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Part 3 Rights and Responsibilities

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Occupational First Aid

3.14 Definitions

In this section and in sections 3.15 to 3.21,

"first aid" means

(a) in cases in which a person will need medical treatment, treatment for the purpose of preserving life and minimizing the consequences of injury until medical treatment is obtained, and

(b) treatment of minor injuries that would otherwise receive no medical treatment or that do not need medical treatment;

"first aid attendant" means a person who holds a valid first aid certificate issued by the Board or by a person recognized by the Board and who is designated as a first aid attendant by the employer;

"injured worker" means a worker who suffers an injury during work;

"injury" includes an occupational disease or illness;

"medical certificate" means a report in a form acceptable to the Board from a physician registered under the Medical Practitioners Act as to a person's fitness to perform the functions of a first aid attendant.

[Enacted by B.C. Reg. 348/2003, effective March 30, 2004.]

3.15 First aid attendant qualifications

The employer must ensure that a person who is designated as a first aid attendant

(a) is at least 16 years old,

(b) has successfully completed the first aid training course or first aid examination developed or approved by the Board,

(c) has a first aid certificate in good standing at the required level issued by the Board or a person recognized by the Board, and

(d) meets any other requirements determined by the Board for designation as a first aid attendant.

[Enacted by B.C. Reg. 348/2003, effective March 30, 2004.]

3.16 Basic requirements

(1) The employer must provide for each workplace such equipment, supplies, facilities, first aid attendants and services as are adequate and appropriate for

(a) promptly rendering first aid to workers if they suffer an injury at work, and

(b) transporting injured workers to medical treatment.

(1.1) The type and quantity of equipment, supplies, facilities, first aid attendants and services referred to in subsection (1) must be no less than is required by Schedule 3-A.

(1.2) The quality, maintenance and use of equipment, facilities and methods of transportation referred to in this section must be acceptable to the Board.

(2) For the purpose of complying with subsection (1), the employer must conduct an assessment of the circumstances of the workplace, including

(a) the number of workers who may require first aid at any time,

(b) the nature and extent of the risks and hazards in the workplace, including whether or not the workplace as a whole creates a low, moderate or high risk of injury,

(d) any barriers to first aid being provided to an injured worker, and

(e) the time that may be required to obtain transportation and to transport an injured worker to medical treatment.

(3) The employer must review the assessment under subsection (2)

(a) within 12 months after the previous assessment or review, and

(b) whenever a significant change affecting the assessment occurs in the employer's operations.

(4) First aid equipment, supplies and facilities must be kept clean, dry and ready for use, and be readily accessible at any time a worker works in the workplace.

[Enacted by B.C. Reg. 348/2003, effective March 30, 2004.]

[Amended by B.C. Reg. 320/2007, effective February 1, 2008.]

3.17 First aid procedures

(1) The employer must keep up-to-date written procedures for providing first aid at the worksite including

(a) the equipment, supplies, facilities, first aid attendants and services available,

(b) the location of, and how to call for, first aid,

(d) the authority of the first aid attendant over the treatment of injured workers and the responsibility of the employer to report injuries to the Board,

(e) who is to call for transportation for the injured worker, and the method of transportation and calling, and

(f) prearranged routes in and out of the workplace and to medical treatment.

(2) The employer must post the procedures conspicuously in suitable locations throughout the workplace or, if posting is not practicable, the employer must adopt other measures to ensure that the information is effectively communicated to workers.

(3) The first aid attendant and all other persons authorized to call for transportation for injured workers must be trained in the procedures.

[Enacted by B.C. Reg. 348/2003, effective March 30, 2004.]

3.17.1 Air transportation

If air transportation is the primary or only method for transporting an injured worker, all of the following requirements must be met:

(a) before the start of operations in a workplace, arrangements must be made with an air service to ensure that an appropriate aircraft is reasonably available to the workplace during those operations;

(b) the arrangements in paragraph (a) must include procedures for

(i) the employer to determine the availability of appropriate aircraft before the start of each work day, and

(ii) the air service to notify the employer if an appropriate aircraft ceases to be available;

(c) a system must be provided that enables the pilot of the aircraft and the first aid attendant attending to an injured worker to communicate at all times when the aircraft is in transit to the location of the injured worker and during transport of the injured worker to medical treatment.

[Enacted by B.C. Reg. 320/2007, effective February 1, 2008.]

3.18 Communication and availability

(1) The employer must provide an effective means for

(a) communication between the first aid attendant and the workers served, and

(b) the first aid attendant to call for assistance.

(2) The employer must not assign, and the first aid attendant must not undertake, employment activities that will interfere with the attendant's ability to receive and respond to a request for first aid.

[Enacted by B.C. Reg. 348/2003, effective March 30, 2004.]

3.19 First aid records

(1) The employer must maintain at the workplace, in a form acceptable to the Board, a record of all injuries and exposures to contaminants covered by this Regulation that are reported or treated.

(2) First aid records must be kept for at least 3 years.

(3) First aid records are to be kept confidential and may not be disclosed except as permitted by this Regulation or otherwise permitted by law.

(4) First aid records must be available for inspection by an officer of the Board.

(5) Workers may request or authorize access to their first aid records for any treatment or report about themselves.

[Enacted by B.C. Reg. 348/2003, effective March 30, 2004.]

3.20 Multiple employer workplaces

If workers of 2 or more employers are working at a workplace at the same time, the prime contractor must

(a) conduct an assessment of the circumstances of the workplace under section 3.16 (2) in relation to all the workers in the workplace, and

(b) do everything that is reasonably practicable to establish and maintain the first aid equipment, supplies, facilities, first aid attendants and services required under section 3.16.

[Enacted by B.C. Reg. 348/2003, effective March 30, 2004.]

[Amended by B.C. Reg. 320/2007, effective February 1, 2008.]

3.21 First aid attendant responsibilities

(1) The first aid attendant must

(a) promptly provide injured workers with a level of care within the scope of the attendant's training and this Part,

(b) objectively record observed or reported signs and symptoms of injuries and exposures to contaminants covered by this Regulation, and

(c) refer for medical treatment workers with injuries considered by the first aid attendant as being serious or beyond the scope of the attendant's training.

(2) A first aid attendant must be physically and mentally capable of safely and effectively performing the required duties, and the Board may at any time require the attendant to provide a medical certificate.

(3) The first aid attendant is responsible, and has full authority, for all first aid treatment of an injured worker until responsibility for treatment is accepted

(a) at a place of medical treatment,

(b) by an ambulance service acceptable to the Board, or

(4) The first aid attendant does not have authority to overrule a worker's decision to seek medical treatment or the worker's choice of medical treatment.

[Enacted by B.C. Reg. 348/2003, effective March 30, 2004.]

Schedule 3-A Minimum Levels of First Aid

1 In this Schedule:

"ambulance service" means an ambulance service acceptable to the Board;

"hospital" means a hospital within the meaning of the Hospital Act or a diagnostic and treatment centre where the hospital or centre has

(a) an emergency department or resuscitation area, and

(b) a physician on duty or immediately available on call.

2 (1) Tables 1 to 6 have different levels of first aid service that are based on how long it takes to transport an injured person to a hospital and the number of workers per shift.

(2) Exceptions to note: In circumstances in which Tables 1 to 6 would otherwise require a Level 2 first aid certificate under column 3 [noted with an asterisk (*)], a Level 3 first aid certificate is required and an Emergency Transportation Vehicle ("ETV") must be provided, if

(a) there is on the access route to the workplace an obstruction, barrier, rough terrain or other similar circumstances likely to delay the arrival of an ambulance service for more than 20 minutes after it was dispatched, or

(b) there are areas in the workplace which an ambulance service cannot safely access, and for which workers at the workplace are required by this Regulation to be trained, equipped and capable of effecting rescue.

Table 1: This table applies to a workplace that an employer determines under section 3.16 (2) (b) of the Regulation creates a low risk of injury and that is more than 20 minutes surface travel time away from a hospital.

Item	Column 1 Number of workers per shift	Column 2 Supplies, equipment, and facility	Column 3 Level of first aid certificate for attendant	Column 4 Transportation
1	1	Personal first aid kit
2	2-5	Basic first aid kit
3	6-30	Level 1 first aid kit	Level 1 certificate
4	31-50	Level 1 first aid kit ETV equipment	Level 1 certificate with Transportation Endorsement
5	51-75	Level 3 first aid kit Dressing station ETV equipment	Level 3 certificate
6	76 or more	Level 3 first aid kit First aid room ETV equipment	Level 3 certificate	ETV

Table 2: This table applies to a workplace that an employer determines under section 3.16 (2) (b) of the Regulation creates a low risk of injury and that is 20 minutes or less surface travel time away from a hospital.

Item	Column 1 Number of workers per shift	Column 2 Supplies, equipment, and facility	Column 3 Level of first aid certificate for attendant
1	1
2	2-10	Basic first aid kit
3	11-50	Level 1 first aid kit	Level 1 certificate
4	51-100	Level 2 first aid kit Dressing station	*Level 2 certificate
5	101 or more	Level 2 first aid kit First aid room	*Level 2 certificate

Table 3: This table applies to a workplace that an employer determines under section 3.16 (2) (b) of the Regulation creates a moderate risk of injury and that is more than 20 minutes surface travel time away from a hospital.

Item	Column 1 Number of workers per shift	Column 2 Supplies, equipment, and facility	Column 3 Level of first aid certificate for attendant	Column 4 Transportation
1	1	Personal first aid kit
2	2-5	Level 1 first aid kit	Level 1 certificate
3	6-15	Level 1 first aid kit ETV equipment	Level 1 certificate with Transportation Endorsement
4	16-50	Level 3 first aid kit Dressing station ETV equipment	Level 3 certificate	ETV
5	51-100	Level 3 first aid kit First aid room ETV equipment	Level 3 certificate	ETV
6	101-300	Level 3 first aid kit First aid room Industrial ambulance equipment	Level 3 certificate	Industrial ambulance
7	301 or more	Level 3 first aid kit First aid room Industrial ambulance equipment	2 attendants, each with Level 3 certificates	Industrial ambulance

Table 4: This table applies to a workplace that an employer determines under section 3.16 (2) (b) of the Regulation creates a moderate risk of injury and that is 20 minutes or less surface travel time away from a hospital.

Item	Column 1 Number of workers per shift	Column 2 Supplies, equipment, and facility	Column 3 Level of first aid certificate for attendant
1	1	Personal first aid kit
2	2-5	Basic first aid kit
3	6-25	Level 1 first aid kit	Level 1 certificate
4	26-75	Level 2 first aid kit Dressing station	* Level 2 certificate
5	76 or more	Level 2 first aid kit First aid room	* Level 2 certificate

Table 5: This table applies to a workplace that an employer determines under section 3.16 (2) (b) of the Regulation creates a high risk of injury and that is more than 20 minutes surface travel time away from a hospital.

Item	Column 1 Number of workers per shift	Column 2 Supplies, equipment, and facility	Column 3 Level of first aid certificate for attendant	Column 4 Transportation
1	1	Personal first aid kit
2	2-5	Level 1 first aid kit	Level 1 certificate
3	6-10	Level 1 first aid kit ETV equipment	Level 1 certificate with Transportation Endorsement	ETV
4	11-30	Level 3 first aid kit Dressing station ETV equipment	Level 3 certificate	ETV
5	31-50	Level 3 first aid kit First aid room ETV equipment	Level 3 certificate	ETV
6	51-200	Level 3 first aid kit First aid room Industrial ambulance equipment	Level 3 certificate	Industrial ambulance
7	201 or more	Level 3 first aid kit First aid room Industrial ambulance equipment	2 attendants, each with Level 3 certificates	Industrial ambulance

Table 6: This table applies to a workplace that an employer determines under section 3.16 (2) (b) of the Regulation creates a high risk of injury and that is 20 minutes or less surface travel time away from a hospital.

Item	Column 1 Number of workers per shift	Column 2 Supplies, equipment, and facility	Column 3 Level of first aid certificate for attendant
1	1	Personal first aid kit
2	2-15	Level 1 first aid kit	Level 1 certificate
3	16-30	Level 2 first aid kit Dressing station	* Level 2 certificate
4	31-300	Level 2 first aid kit First aid room	* Level 2 certificate
5	301 or more	Level 2 first aid kit First aid room	* 2 attendants, each with Level 2 certificates

[Enacted by B.C. Reg. 320/2007, effective February 1, 2008.]

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