First aid requirements follow the same basic approach although technical details and procedures vary geographically. This Model Policy is based on Yukon OHS regulations but can be adapted to meet the requirements of your own jurisdiction.

1. PURPOSE

ABC has adopted this Policy to ensure that workers who suffer an injury or illnesses at an ABC Company workplace receive the necessary first aid treatment in accordance with the [list province] Occupational Health and Safety Act (“Act”), the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations governing first aid ( “First Aid Regulations”), the ABC Company Occupational Health and Safety Program (“OHS Program”), and other applicable requirements and standards.

2. DEFINITIONS

For purposes of this Policy:

• “Construction” includes erection, alteration, repair, dismantling, demolition, structural maintenance, painting, land clearing, earth moving, grading, excavating, trenching, digging, boring, drilling, blasting, or concreting, and the installation of machinery;
• “Director” means the [province name] Director of Occupational Health and Safety;
• “Emergency transportation” means transporting an injured worker to the nearest medical facility;
• “First aid” means assessing the extent of a person’s injuries and providing:
  • Treatment of minor injuries that would otherwise not receive medical treatment or that do not need medical treatment; and
  • In cases where a person does need medical treatment, treatment for the purpose of saving life and minimizing the consequences of injury until medical treatment is obtained;
• “First-aid attendant” means a standard or advanced first-aid attendant or a person with at least equivalent valid credentials in first-aid treatment;
• “Firefighter” means an ABC Company worker who performs and receives training to perform:
  • Fire inspection, fire investigation, and firefighting duties and receives training for such activities at an ABC Company workplace as part of an industrial fire brigade; and/or
  • Rescue operations at an ABC Company workplace that require special training and equipment, e.g., from inside confined spaces;
• “Government safety officer” means a [province name] government health and safety officer;
• “Industrial fire brigade” means an organization established by ABC Company to protect its premises where the nature of the business creates specific hazards requiring specialized training and equipment;
• “Medical facility” means a facility:
  • That is a general hospital, nursing station, or health centre; and
  • That is able to provide emergency medical treatment;
• “Project” means a public or private construction project, including:
  • The construction of a building, bridge, structure, industrial establishment, mining plant, shaft, tunnel, caisson, trench, excavation, highway, railway, street, runway, parking lot, cofferdam, conduit, sewer, water main, service connection, telegraph, telephone or electrical line, tower, pipe line, duct, or well, any other similar thing, and any combination thereof;
  • A mining development; and
  • Any work or undertaking or any lands or appurtenances used in connection with construction;
• “Qualified” means educated, experienced, and trained to recognize, evaluate, and control the hazards associated with the work.

3. POLICY STATEMENT

ABC Company is committed to preventing injuries at its workplaces. But it is equally committed to ensuring that workers who are injured at work receive whatever first-aid treatment they need. To meet that commitment, ABC Company will provide and maintain at each one of its workplaces nothing less than the minimum equipment, supplies, facilities, first-aid attendants, and services required for that particular workplace under the First Aid Regulations to promptly render first aid and emergency transportation to workers at that workplace should they get injured at work.

4. WORKERS THIS POLICY IS INTENDED TO PROTECT

The intent of this Policy is to ensure that all workers engaged to work at ABC Company work sites receive appropriate and effective first aid regardless of who pays or employs those workers, including:

• Full- or part-time workers employed by ABC Company;
• Temporary employees placed by an outside agency to work at the site;
• Contract labourers engaged to perform work at the site;
• Volunteers who work at the site for free; and
• Workers employed by constructors, contractors, and subcontractors to perform work at the site under a contract with ABC Company.

5. ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

5.1. Employer

The owners, corporate officers and directors, upper management, and other representatives of ABC Company who may be deemed “employers” under the Act are responsible for developing, implementing, overseeing, and monitoring this Policy, including ensuring that:

• The first aid needs assessment is carried out following the method set out in Section 6 of this Policy;
• The required first aid equipment, facilities, first-aid attendants, and services are provided and maintained at the workplace;
• First aid kits, dressing stations, and first aid rooms are accessible, well marked, properly equipped, and kept clean, dry, and sanitary;
• First-aid attendants possess the qualifications required by the First Aid Regulations and are not assigned work that interferes with their ability to receive and respond to a request for first aid;
• The required emergency transportation is provided;
• All personnel receive appropriate training and instruction to carry out their duties under this Policy;
• The First Aid Notice is properly posted and includes the information listed in Section 11 below;
• First aid records are properly kept and worker privacy is maintained in accordance with Section 12 below;
• The requirements of this Policy are effectively transferred to constructors in charge of projects and/or principal contractors in charge of work that is not a project at an ABC Company workplace in accordance with Section 15 below; and
• This Policy is appropriately reviewed.

5.2. First-Aid Attendants

First-aid attendants are responsible for, and have full authority over, all first aid treatment of injured workers until responsibility is taken over by a medical facility, ambulance service, or person with equivalent or superior credentials. (Responsibility for first aid treatment does not give a first-aid attendant authority to overrule a worker’s decision to seek medical treatment.) Other responsibilities of first-aid attendants include:

• Maintaining reasonable access at all times to the first aid kit, dressing station, or first aid room at the workplace;
• Exercising general control and supervision of such first aid kit, dressing station, or first aid room;
• Being available to treat workers at all times during their shifts without undue delay;
• Using personal protective equipment, including any necessary barrier equipment, to guard against exposure to infectious conditions;
• Keeping their first aid certificate up to date, at the workplace, and available for a government safety officer to inspect;
• Promptly providing injured workers the care expected of a first-aid attendant with their particular training;
• Referring workers whose injuries, in the first-aid attendant’s judgment, are serious or beyond the scope of the first-aid attendant’s treatment for medical treatment;
• Completing the First Aid Register Form to document specific details of each case in which they deliver first aid, including but not limited to reported or observed signs or symptoms of injuries and exposures to harmful contaminants.

5.3. Supervisors

Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that:

• All reported injuries are recorded in the First Aid Register Form or other appropriate first aid record;
• First aid is available at all times when workers are at work; and
• All serious injuries are immediately reported to a government safety officer.

5.4. Workers

Workers are responsible for:

• Knowing and being able to use the first aid measures contained in this Policy, including but not limited to:
  • Where first aid kits, dressing stations, or first aid rooms are located;
  • Who the first-aid attendants or other persons trained to provide first aid are;
  • How to call for help in case of injury;
• Using the first aid supplies and services provided under this Policy so as to prevent further injury;
• Reporting the injuries they suffer at work to ABC Company as soon as practicable.

6. THE FIRST AID NEEDS ASSESSMENT

ABC Company will conduct a first aid needs assessment at each workplace to determine what equipment, supplies, facilities, first-aid attendants, and services it must provide and maintain for the particular workplace.

6.1. Step 1: Classification of Work Hazard Level

The first step of the first aid needs assessment will be to assign each workplace a hazard rating based on how hazardous the work conducted at the site is using the 3 classifications defined in Schedule 1 of the First Aid Regulations (from most to least hazardous):

• Class A Hazard Work for work involving:

1. Construction, demolition, and associated work, including work on:

• Industrial or commercial process facilities;
• Pipelines and related gas or oil transmission facilities;
• Commercial, residential, and industrial buildings;
• Roads, highways, bridges, and related installations;
• Sewage gathering systems;
• Utility installations; and
• Water distribution systems;

1. The operation and maintenance of:

• Food packing or processing plants;
• Electrical transmission, generation, and distribution systems;
• Foundries;
• Industrial heavy equipment, and repair and service facilities;
• Automotive repair and service facilities;
• Sawmills and lumber processing facilities;
• Lumber yards;
• Machine shops;
• Metal fabrication shops;
• Gas, oil, and chemical process plants;
• Laboratories;
• Steel and other base metal processing plants;
• Waste water processing facilities;
• Solid waste facilities; and
• Industrial process facilities not elsewhere specified;

1. Woodland operations;
2. Wildland fire operations;
3. Gas and oil well drilling and servicing operations;
4. Mining and quarrying operations;
5. Mineral exploration;
6. Seismic operations;
7. Detonation of explosives; and
8. Any other work a government safety officers considers similar to the work listed above;

• Class B Hazard Work for work involving:

1. Recreational activities including:

• Guiding and outfitting;
• Tourism operations; and
• Campgrounds;
  1. The operation of:
• Medical services or facilities;
• Recreational facilities;
• Extended care services or facilities;
• Social services programs;
• Facilities providing accommodation;
• Retail stores; and
• Greenhouses;
  1. Food and beverage preparation and sales;
  2. Fuel yards and fuel distribution;
  3. Small appliance service and repair;
  4. Janitorial services;
  5. Laundry services;
  6. Motion picture production;
  7. Moving and storage;
  8. Warehouse operations;
  9. Delivery services; and
  10. Any other work that a government safety officer thinks is less hazardous than Class A but more hazardous than Class C;

• Class C Hazard Work for:

1. Work of an administrative, professional, or clerical nature;
2. Work that does not require substantial physical exertion or exposure to hazardous conditions, work processes, or substances; and
3. Any other work a government safety officer considers similar to the activities listed in the bullet a. and b. above.

6.2. Step 2: Classification of Work Site as Close, Distant, or Isolated

The second step of the first aid needs assessment will be to classify the workplace by how far it is from a medical facility using the 3 classifications set out in the First Aid Regulations:

• “Close” if the workplace is within 20 minutes’ surface travel time from a medical facility;
• “Distant” if the workplace is more than 20 minutes’ but less than 40 minutes’ surface travel time from a medical facility;
• “Isolated” if the workplace is:
  • More than 40 minutes’ surface travel time from a medical facility; or
  • Not served by an all-weather road that is designed and maintained to a standard that allows an ambulance to travel 50 kilometres per hour or faster.

6.3. Step 3: Determination of Number of Workers Present

The third step of the first aid needs assessment is to determine the number of workers present at the particular workplace per shift, including not just workers but supervisors, or managers at the workplace who may need first aid. When counting the number of workers per shift at an isolated workplace in which workers are lodged at or near the workplace, the total must include all of the workers at the workplace, including lodgings, whether on or off shift.

6.4. Step 4: Use of Schedule 2 to Determine First Aid Requirements for Workplace

The fourth step of the first aid needs assessment will be to look at the three Tables listed in Schedule 2 of the First Aid Regulations to determine what equipment, supplies, facilities, first-aid attendants, and services are required for the particular workplace based on:

• The hazard rating from Step 1;
• The close, distant, or isolation determination from Step 2; and
• The number of workers present calculated in Step 3.

Schedule 2: Minimum First Aid Requirements

Table 1: First Aid Requirements for Class C Hazard Work

Table 2: First Aid Requirements for Class B Hazard Work

Table 3: First Aid Requirements for Class A Hazard Work

6.5. Step 5: Review of First Aid Needs Assessment

ABC Company will review the first aid needs assessment for the workplace:

• At least once a year; and
• Whenever a significant change affecting the assessment occurs at its operations or facilities.

7. FIRST AID KITS & FACILITIES

7.1. First Aid Kits

ABC Company will ensure that whatever first aid kits are required for the workplace as determined by the first aid needs assessment are provided and properly maintained and that first aid kits:

• Contain all of the items and supplies required for that particular type of kit (personal, Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3) by Schedule 4 of the First Aid Regulations;
• Are kept clean, dry, and complete;
• With an expiry date are replaced before that date; and
• Are properly inspected and maintained in accordance with Section 13 below.

7.2. Dressing Stations

If the first aid needs assessment determines that a dressing station is required for the workplace, ABC Company will provide such a dressing station and ensure that it is:

• Located as near as practicable to the work area it is intended to serve;
• Situated so as to allow for optimum ease of access for stretcher patients;
• Adequately lit;
• Adequately heated and ventilated for patient care;
• Kept clean and sanitary;
• Properly inspected in accordance with Section 13 below;
• Used in a manner that does not impede patient’s treatment;
• Supplied with a treatment chair;
• Supplied with appropriate first aid kits in accordance with Schedule 2 of the First Aid Regulations and Section 7.1. above.

7.3. First Aid Rooms

If the first aid needs assessment determines that a first aid room is required for the workplace, ABC Company will provide such a first aid room and ensure that:

• It contains all of the equipment required by Schedule 3 of the First Aid Regulations;
• It is located in an accessible location as near as practicable to the workers it is designed to serve;
• It is kept clean, dry, and sanitary;
• It is properly inspected in accordance with Section 13 below;
• If the first aid room is a temporary or mobile facility:
  • The room is used for other services only if it is maintained appropriately to provide effective first aid; and
  • An alternative water supply is available if it is not practicable to provide a supply of running hot and cold water.

7.4. Approved Oxygen Therapy Equipment

If the first aid needs assessment determines that approved oxygen therapy equipment is required for the workplace, ABC Company will provide such equipment and ensure that it:

• Meets the requirements of CSA Z305.3.M87, Pressure Regulators, Gauges, and Flow Metering Devices for Medical Gases or a similar standard acceptable to the Director;
• Consists of:
  • A control assembly (regulator) with approved pin-indexed yoke;
  • A sufficient number of oxygen bottles to maintain patient care until the patient is transferred to a medical facility;
  • 2 disposable plastic masks;
  • 2 airways (adult and small sizes) and suction units;
  • Suitable wrenches for the medical post; and
  • A carrying case or pack board;
• Is constant flow inhalator type of equipment that has the following characteristics:
  • Oxygen is delivered through a yoke attachment, pin-indexed for oxygen, to a flow control valve operating accurately with the tank in any position;
  • Supply tubes to the face mask are made of smooth vinyl or the equivalent and no more than 3 mm or 1/10 inch inside diameter;
  • Face masks are translucent and closely fit the face with unobstructed outlets that allow free movement of atmospheric air;
  • Cylinders are medical “D” or “E” size equipped with standard post valves, except that large commercial oxygen tanks are used when the surface travel time from the workplace to the nearest medical facility makes a prolonged 10 litre or 2.2 gallon per minute flow other impractical;
  • Oxygen is metered through a gauge reading in litres per minute;
  • The control assembly incorporates a static pressure gauge on the high pressure side, and a rupture disc to relieve excessive pressures;
  • A cylinder valve wrench is secured to the yoke of each assembly; and
  • A plainly visible “NO SMOKING” sign is attached to the oxygen therapy equipment.

ABC Company will also ensure that:

• Each cylinder used in oxygen therapy equipment is hydrostatically tested at least every 5 years;

• The test date is stamped on the cylinder close to the neck;
• Only qualified personnel transfill and refill oxygen cylinders;

7.5. First Aid Equipment & Requirements for Firefighters

ABC Company will ensure that the following equipment is available to firefighters in any workplace where firefighters are used for emergency and incident response:

• An automatic external defibrillator (AED);
• A Level 2 first aid kit;
•  Approved oxygen therapy equipment that meets the standards of Section 7.4. above;
• Bag and mask;
• Airways and suction units; and
• 2 sterile burn sheets in sealed plastic containers.

ABC Company will ensure that each firefighter hold certificates in:

• Standard first aid;
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation to a standard acceptable to the Director;
• Administering oxygen therapy; and
• Use of an AED if the Director requires it.

7.6. Self-Administered First Aid for Certain Class A & B Hazard Workers

ABC Company will ensure that workers who work in Class A or Class B hazard work and who are unable to get immediate help are:

• Trained to self-administer first aid; and
• Provided with a means of contacting assistance.

8. EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION

8.1. Definitions

For purposes of Section 8:

• “Ambulance service” means an emergency transportation service acceptable to the Director, whether provided by ABC Company, another employer, a third party service provider, or government emergency medical service;
• “Emergency transportation service” means an organized combination of equipment and skilled personnel that is capable of providing efficient and reliable emergency transportation;
• “Readily available to a workplace,” when used to describe an emergency transportation service means the provider of the service is willing and able, when travel conditions are normal, to provide emergency transportation during all hours of the workplace’s operation without delay due to terrain, weather conditions, equipment availability, personnel availability, or distance.

8.2. Ambulance Service to Be Provided

ABC Company will ensure that an ambulance service is readily available at each of its workplaces (unless the exceptions set out in the First Aid Regulations justifying non-ambulance emergency transport services apply):

• Before any workers are sent to the workplace; and
• At all times when the workplace is in operation.

8.3. Emergency Transportation Measures

If at any time no ambulance service is readily available to the workplace or travel conditions are not normal, ABC Company will ensure that another emergency transportation service that is adequate for the workplace is readily available. ABC Company will provide a means of communication at the workplace to summon emergency transportation. If an injured worker must be transported to a medical facility, ABC Company will, at its own expense, immediately transport the worker to the nearest medical facility. If a worker is acutely ill or injured or needs to be accompanied during transport, ABC Company will ensure that, in addition to the operator of the transport, the worker is accompanied by:

• A first-aid attendant if the workplace is required to have 1 or more first-aid attendants; or
• Another worker.

8.4. Emergency Air Transportation

If air transportation is the primary or only method of transporting an injured worker from a workplace, ABC Company will ensure that:

• Operations do not start at the workplace unless and until ABC Company confirms that an appropriate aircraft will be available;
• A system is in place that enables information to be communicated between the pilot and the first-aid attendant attending to the injured worker;
• Stretchers suitable for use in the aircraft are available; and
• The first aid services and supplies available at the workplace are sufficient to allow prolonged treatment of injured workers in case weather conditions keep the aircraft from reaching the workplace.

8.5. First Aid Kits in Company Vehicles

ABC Company will ensure that any vehicles it uses to transport workers has a Level 1 first aid kit (to the extent such vehicle is under ABC Company control).

9. FIRST AID ATTENDANTS

ABC Company will ensure that every workplace in which a first-aid attendant is required, as determined by the first aid needs assessment:

• Has the number of first-aid attendants required;
• Has the type(s) of first-aid attendants required, i.e., standard and/or advanced;
• Has an effective means for:
  • Communication between the first-aid attendant and workers; and
  • The first-aid attendant to call for assistance;

ABC Company will not assign, and a first-aid attendant may not undertake, any employment activities that will interfere with the first-aid attendant’s ability to receive and respond to a request for first aid.

10. FIRST AID COMMUNICATION & PROCEDURES

ABC Company will create a:

• Written procedure for summoning first aid and communicating with first aid and emergency response personnel; and
• Notice listing contact information for the nearest:
  • Police station;
  • Ambulance station;
  • Fire station; and
  • Medical facility.

11. POSTING OF FIRST AID INFORMATION

ABC Company will ensure that a notice listing the following items are posted in a conspicuous location near the first aid kit or first aid room:

• The need to promptly report all injuries receiving first aid;
• The location of the first aid supplies in the workplace, i.e., first aid kit, dressing station, or first aid room;
• The name of the person in charge of the first aid kit, dressing station, or first aid room;
• The names and qualifications of first-aid attendants or other persons trained to give first aid at the workplace; and
• The first aid communication procedure cited in Section 10 above;
• Emergency contact information notice cited in Section 10 above.

12. FIRST AID RECORDS

ABC Company will ensure that every first aid station, dressing station, or first aid room has a first aid register for recording specific information about each first aid treatment administered to an injured worker while at work, including:

• The injured worker’s name;
• The date and time of injury;
• A description of how the injury occurred;
• The names of any witnesses;
• The date and time the injury was reported;
• The name and qualifications of the person giving first aid;
• A description of the first aid given to the injured worker;
• The work-related cause of the injury, if any;
• The injured worker’s signature (if possible); and
• The first-aid attendant’s signature.

The first aid register may be kept electronically if the format is acceptable to the Director and the record includes an electronic signature of the first-aid attendant and, if possible, injured worker.

ABC Company will keep the above first aid records:

• For at least 3 years;
• Confidential except where disclosure is allowed or required by law; and
• Available for a government safety officer to inspect.

13. INSPECTIONS

Monthly workplace inspections conducted by the Safety Committee, Safety Representative, or other personnel will include checks of first aid boxes, stations, rooms, supplies, and equipment. The person(s) who performs the inspection will clearly note on the Checklist and immediately notify the first aid attendant, manager, or supervisor of any items that are missing or found to be inadequate. Upon receiving such a report the first aid attendant, manager, or supervisor must ensure that immediate action is taken to replace or repair the item. Confirmation that missing or inadequate items have been replaced or repaired must be obtained as part of the workplace inspection completed during the next month.

14. TRAINING & INSTRUCTION

First aid will be covered in safety orientation training for new and young workers. All workers will receive training and instruction on the location of first aid kits, dressing stations, and/or first aid rooms and how to call for first aid and communicate with first aid attendants . ABC Company will ensure that workers who work in Class A or Class B hazard work and who are unable to get immediate help:

• Are trained to self-administer first aid; and
• Are provided with a means of contacting assistance.

15. CONSTRUCTORS, CONTRACTORS & SUBCONTRACTORS

Where work at an ABC Company workplace is performed by workers of more than one employer, ABC Company will be responsible for ensuring that the first aid measures required by this Policy are provided for all workers involved in the work regardless of which employer they work for.

Where ABC Company exercises responsibility for first aid at an ABC Company workplace involving workers of more than one employer in accordance with the above paragraph, it will apply and notify all of the contractors, subcontractors, and other employers involved about this Policy and the first aid arrangements in effect for the workplace, including but not limited to:

• The names and locations of first-aid attendants;
• The location of first aid kits, dressing stations, or first aid rooms;
• The methods used to transport injured workers to a medical facility;
• The methods of summoning first aid and communicating with first-aid attendants, ambulance, police, fire, and other emergency responders.

Where a constructor is hired to control a project at an ABC Company workplace or a principal contractor is hired to control work that is not a project at an ABC Company workplace, that constructor or principal contractor will assume the responsibilities assigned to ABC Company under this Policy, including but not limited to:

• Conducting the first aid needs assessment for the work;
• Providing and maintaining the required first aid equipment, facilities, first-aid attendants, and services required for the workplace where the work is performed based on the first aids needs assessment and Schedule 2 of the First Aid Regulations; and
• Providing for the emergency transportation of injured workers.

16. EVALUATION

ABC Company will review this Policy, in consultation with the Safety Committee or Safety Representative, or where no Safety Committee or Safety Representative exists, directly with workers at the workplace, at least once a year and more frequently in response to changes and developments potentially affecting workers’ health and safety and the effectiveness of this Policy.

Legislation/Regulations/Standards

Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSY 2002, c 159

Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, YOIC 2006/178

Workers’ Compensation Act, SY 2008, c 12

CSA Z305.3.M87, Pressure Regulators, Gauges, and Flow Metering Devices for Medical Gases