Appendix B outlining occupational first aid requirements recently passed as resolutions by the WCB Panel of Administrators.
Proposed Performance Based Requirements for Occupational First Aid
Definitions Section 3.14
DEFINITIONS 3.14 In sections 3.15 to 3.21
“attendant” means a person who holds a valid first aid certificate issued by the board or by a person recognised by the board and who is designated as an attendant by the employer.
“first aid” means (a) in cases where 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;
“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 an attendant.
Attendant Qualifications Section 3.15
Attendant Qualifications 3.15 The employer must ensure that a person who is designated as an attendant (a) is at least 16 years of age, (b) has successfully completed the training course or 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 for acting as an attendant determined by the board.
Basic Requirements Section 3.16
Basic requirements 3.16 (1) The employer must provide for each workplace such equipment, supplies, facilities, 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) if required, transporting injured workers to a place of medical treatment.
(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 risk of injury,
(c) the types of injuries likely to occur,
(d) any barriers to first aid being provided to an injured worker, and
(e) the time that may be required to summon transportation and convey an injured worker to a place where the worker might need to receive medical treatment.
(3) The employer must review the assessment under subsection (2) no more than 12 months after the previous assessment or review and whenever a significant change material to 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 during working hours.
Procedures Section 3.17
Procedures 3.17 (1) The employer must have written procedures for providing the first aid required under section 3.16 that include
(a) the equipment, supplies, facilities, attendants and services to be provided,
(b) the location of, and how to call for, first aid,
(c) how the attendant receives and responds to a call for first aid,
(d) the authority of the attendant and the responsibility of the employer to report injuries,
(e) who is to summon transportation for the injured worker, and the method of transportation and summons, and
(f) prearranged routes in and out of the workplace and to the hospital or other place of 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 attendant and all other persons authorized to summon transportation for injured workers must be trained in the procedures.
Communication and Availability Section 3.18
Communication and availability 3.18 (1) The employer must provide an effective means for
(a) communication between the attendant and the workers served, and
(b) the attendant to call for additional assistance.
(2) The employer must not assign, and the attendant must not undertake, employment activities that will interfere with the attendant’s ability to receive and respond to a request for first aid.
First Aid Records Section 3.19
First aid records 3.19 (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) A worker may request or authorize access to first aid records for any treatment or report pertaining to the worker.
Multiple Employer Workplaces Section 3.20
Multiple employer workplaces
3.20 In a workplace where workers of 2 or more employers are working 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, attendants and services in accordance with the results of the assessment.
Responsibility of the Attendant Section 3.21
Responsibility of the attendant 3.21 (1) The 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 to medical treatment workers with injuries considered by the attendant as being serious or beyond the scope of the attendant’s training.
‘ (2) An 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 attendant is responsible, and has full authority, for all first aid treatment of an injured worker until responsibility for treatment is accepted at a place of medical treatment or by a person with higher or equivalent certification in first aid.
(4) The attendant does not have authority to overrule a worker’s decision to seek medical treatment or the worker’s choice of medical treatment.
Review and Expiry Section 3.22
Review and expiry 3.22 For the purposes of ensuring that the occupational first aid provisions of this Regulation will be reviewed for ongoing relevancy and necessity, with the option that they may be repassed in their present or an amended form following a review, sections 3.14 to 3.21 of this Regulation expire on June 15, 2008.
Explanatory Note
Summary This provision adds a sunset review and expiry provision to ensure that the amendments creating more performance-based requirements for occupational first aid are reviewed within five years.