First aid is the immediate care given to a person who has been injured or becomes suddenly ill, before professional medical help is available. It plays a vital role in reducing injury severity, preventing complications, and potentially saving lives. It ensures that workers receive prompt treatment, helps reduce recovery time, and supports a safe working environment.
Establishing effective first-aid procedures, maintaining appropriate supplies, ensuring trained personnel are available, and clear emergency procedures helps create a safer work environment.
As part of your Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) management system, it reflects an employer’s commitment to protect their employee’s health and well-being, while supporting compliance with occupational health and safety regulations. There’s a lot to consider when creating your organization’s first aid program. Check out our templates and resources, created with social service workers in mind, to help your process.
Program Builder: First Aid Assessment Form
Program Builder: First Aid Checklist – Class 1
Program Builder: First Aid Procedure Template
Program Builder: CSSHSA First Aid Webinar – First Aid Requirements
WorkSafeBC Requirements
As of November 1, 2024, WorkSafe BC updated the OHS Regulations with first aid requirements to align with the Canadian Standard Association (CSA) for first aid training and supplies. This is significantly different than the prior requirements.
Learn more:
You are required to review the First Aid Assessment annually. Make sure you document your review. Use our First Aid Assessment template to get started.
What Employers Need to Know
Policies and Procedures
- Employers are responsible for first aid in the workplace, ensuring injured workers receive prompt treatment and, if required, are transported to medical care (e.g., a hospital, urgent care, or a doctor).
- Employers are required to develop, implement, and maintain a First Aid Program with clear supporting policies and procedures to establish first aid training and drills needs, documentation of records, incident reporting procedures, and first aid supplies and inventory levels.
- A first aid assessment of the workplace(s) must be conducted. The requirements will differ based on:
- Number of workers
- Workplace Hazard rating based on the classification unit
- The distance between your workplace and the nearest BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) ambulance
- If the workplace is classified as a remote workplace
Training and Equipment
- First aid attendants must have the minimum level of Occupational First Aid (OFA) Attendant for the workplace:
- Basic (formally OFA level 1) – one-day length
- Intermediate (formally OFA level 2) – two-day length
- Advanced (formally OFA level 3) – 10-day length
- Use WorkSafeBC’s Schedule 3-A chart or the First Aid Assessment tool to determine the minimum required certification.
- In-person first aid drills are required to be conducted annually and must be documented with the following information:
- Attendance
- Debrief
- What went well?
- Gaps identified?
- Corrective action plan(s) and follow-up
- OFA Attendant Certification courses must be WorkSafeBC approved.
- Completion certifications must clearly state WorkSafeBC approval.
- Learn more about approved training providers.
- Note: There are well-known first aid providers (e.g., Canadian Red Cross, St. John’s Ambulance) that may use different terminology (e.g. Emergency First Aid & CPR/AED Level C) to describe courses, however these may be equivalent to WorkSafeBC’s courses (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced).
- Learn more about OFA course equivalencies.
- Completion certifications must clearly state WorkSafeBC approval.
- Inventory and document first aid kits and supplies regularly.
Record Management
- First aid reports must be stored securely, with access limited to authorized personnel (OFAA, management, and the injured worker).
- Leading and lagging safety indicators, including metrics such as incident reports and first-aid records, should be tracked.
- Reporting data should be used to drive continuous improvement in health and safety performance.
- First aid and certification records should be kept for a minimum of three years.
- Occupational exposures records and incident reports should be kept for at least 10 years.
- Detailed records of all program updates and employee communications related to first aid should be maintained. Safety policies and procedures should be reviewed and updated regularly.
Best Practices
Take Safety Seriously:
- Go beyond the minimum annual requirement by conducting first aid drills quarterly or biannually to reinforce preparedness.
- Conduct comprehensive annual reviews of all first aid policies and procedures to maintain accuracy, relevance, and compliance with current regulations.
- Place visible, standardized signage throughout the facility so employees, contractors, and visitors can quickly identify the location of first aid stations and the names and/or numbers of first aiders.
Streamline Your Processes
- Establish a clear record-keeping process, including defined roles and responsibilities for maintaining first aid documentation and supplies.
- Implement a reliable record-keeping system that suits the organization’s size and needs.
- Analyze safety statistics and incident trends annually to identify areas for improvement and proactively address risks.
- Engage the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) in reviewing safety records and contributing to the revision of policies and procedures.
- Maintain certification records for the entire duration of an employee’s tenure to demonstrate ongoing competency and compliance.
Disclaimer: This resource is intended to help community social service organizations understand the requirements of different aspects developing of health and safety programs. It provides information on key concepts and directs users to relevant resources. The content above is not a substitute for professional legal advice. Please refer to the included links or consult official legislation and resources for current and accurate information.