Amendments to Part 3, Rights and Responsibilities, in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (OHSR) will come into effect November 1, 2024. Last April, WorkSafeBC released a discussion paper highlighting the amendments.

Sections 3.14 to 3.21 and Schedule 3-A state the occupational first aid requirements for workplaces.

Since the current requirements were introduced, there has been the development of two standards from the Canadian Standards Association (CSA): CSA Z1210-17 First aid training for the workplace – Curriculum and quality management for training agencies and CSA Z1220-17 First aid kits for the workplace. The purpose of the amendments is to review and update the first aid requirements and to harmonize the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation with first aid training and first aid kits framework as outlined in the CSA Standards.

What are the approved changes?

While all the approved changes are included in the discussion paper, some highlights include:

• A written assessment of the workplace to determine the appropriate level of first aid equipment, supplies, facilities, first aid attendants, and services and must also set out the location of workers and the methods of transportation available.
• Up-to-date written procedures for providing first aid must also include how an injured worker will be accessed and moved if any barriers to providing first aid to injured workers exist.
• First aid drills must be conducted annually to test the written procedures.
• The current Schedule 3-A will be completely replaced with a new one basing minimum first aid requirements on four classes of workplace remoteness and accessibility.
• Certification for first aid attendants is updated from a level 1, 2 and 3 certificate to a basic, intermediate, and advanced certificate to match terminology in CSA Z1210-17.
• Criteria for dressing stations and first aid rooms (where required) has been included. A dressing station is required at a workplace with 100+ workers present and a low hazard rating. Dressing stations and first aid rooms must have a sink with warm and cold running water that is safe to drink.
• Additional requirements for emergency transportation.

*Levels of first aid are currently based on numbers of workers per shift and how long it takes to transport an injured worker to a hospital. In the approved amendments, levels of first aid will be determined by the number of workers present at the workplace on a shift, how remote and accessible the workplace is from and by ambulance personnel, and the hazard rating of the workplace. For the purposes of defining first aid related requirements, both long term care (CU 766011) and community health support services (CU 766006) are assigned a low hazard rating by WorkSafeBC. Currently, A long-term care home that has anywhere from 2-5 workers on shift is required to have a basic first aid kit.  Under the approved amendments, this same workplace might require just a personal first aid kit.

Questions?

If you have questions about the requirements, you can reach out to Camille Shum at camille@safecarebc.ca or 604-630-5572 ext. 221.