First aid is emergency care given immediately to an injured person. The purpose of first aid is to minimize injury and future disability. In serious cases, first aid may be necessary to keep the victim alive.
All Canadian jurisdictions have a requirement for the workplace to provide at least some level of first aid. The type of first aid equipment and training required depends on:
- The number of employees
- The types of hazards present in the workplace
- The travel distance to a hospital/availability of professional medical assistance
In addition, each jurisdiction will have specific requirements for reporting injuries (types, length of time to report to compensation board, details that need to be reported, etc.).
First aid regulations will specify, in detail, your jurisdiction's requirements. These details will include:
- The need for a first aid attendant
- The availability of first aid attendant during working hours
- The level of training or certification required for the first aid attendant
- The number of first aid attendants required (during operational hours or per shift)
- The type and amount of first aid supplies and facilities (content of first aid kits and room equipment)
- The location of kits and notices (in some cases)
- Emergency transportation
- Incident documentation and reporting requirements
Legislation may also specify that first aid supplies are to be, for example:
- Stocked with required and appropriate items
- Kept clean and dry
- Checked regularly for expiry dates
- Maintained so they meet the regulations
- Requirements, at a minimum (e.g., restocked when supplies are used)
- Stored in a visible and accessible location
Since legislation varies by jurisdiction, contact your local jurisdiction for exact details. A list is available in the OSH Answers on Canadian Governmental Occupational Health & Safety Departments.
A list of which acts and regulations that cover first aid is available on our website. Please note that while you can see the list of legislation for free, you will need a subscription to view the actual documentation.
If an employer opts to offer additional first aid measures (including over-the-counter medications, administration of oxygen, use of epinephrine auto-injectors, naloxone, etc.), it is suggested that they first seek legal counsel so that they are aware of any liability issues, and to check with your local jurisdiction responsible for health and safety. For example, in some jurisdictions, distribution of over-the-counter medications is not recommended (although an individual who can purchase using a vending machine may be permissible). In other jurisdictions, distribution of over-the-counter medications may be permitted under specific circumstances (including the appropriate training of first aid personnel).
Employers are usually required to maintain written records of all injuries and treatment given in a first aid treatment record book or log. Each event should be recorded and include:
- Worker's name
- Date and time of injury
- Location and nature of the injury
- Description of how the injury occurred
- Type or description of first aid treatment given
- Time first aid was given
- Patient's signature
- First aid attendant's signature
- Date and time of reporting
- Name of the person to whom the injury was reported
Where this book is kept and who has access to it may vary with the need for privacy.
Only employees trained in first aid should assist a victim. Never give first aid treatment for which you are not trained.
As part of their emergency preparedness training, employees should know how to respond during an injury or illness situation. In terms of first aid, employees should know:
- Procedures to be followed when first aid is required (including what types of injuries should be reported) (e.g., who to call for help, remain with the victim until first aid attendants arrive, etc.)
- Location of first aid room and/or first aid kit(s)
- Location of a list of first aid attendants which indicates where to find the attendant or a telephone number
- Location of a list of nearest medical facilities (name, address, operating hours and telephone numbers)
- Location of a list of the organization's key personnel by name, title and telephone numbers that are prioritized by "call first, call second, etc."
While a first aid hazard assessment is not required in all jurisdictions, conducting one will ensure the workplace is prepared for all likely emergencies and the types of first aid treatment that may be needed. It is essential to know the exact hazards in the workplace as being prepared will also help reduce the severity of any events.
For example, if you work in an autobody repair shop, provisions should be made to have training and first aid supplies for:
- Burns and welding flash from welding
- Burns and eye injuries from grinding
- Cuts, scrapes, etc. from general work
- Chemical exposure to the eye or skin from paints, thinners, gasoline, etc
- Muscle injuries from lifting and bending
- Etc.
Depending on the workplace, there may also be need to consider:
- Chemicals that may require a specific sequence of treatment steps, emergency eye-wash stations or showers, or an antidote. Please see the OSH Answers on First Aid for Chemical Exposures for more details.
- Crowd control (e.g., at schools, retail stores, music concerts, fairgrounds, etc.).
- Special needs (e.g., persons with disabilities, known medical conditions, age of persons regularly in the workplace – especially children or elderly).
- Allergic reactions to certain medications, foods, insect bites or stings, chemicals, materials or products. Please see the OSH Answers about using Epinephrine Auto-injector for more details.
- Employees who work alone.
- Transportation to a medical facility (e.g., need for vehicle, boat or plane, need for a second person to accompany the injured person, etc.).
Below is a sample worksheet. Customize it for your workplace needs. Alternatively, the information collected in other job safety analysis or hazard assessments may be used.
| Name and Location of Workplace: |
Hazard Assessment: Jobs done at this worksite, work processes, equipment, tools, chemicals, materials, etc. |
Types of injuries that may occur (include common and rare events)
Number of Workers Per Shift
Required First Aid (e.g., attendants, first aid kits, supplies as stated in legislation)
Barriers to First Aid (e.g., travel distance to nearest hospital or treatment centre)
Summary of Findings (e.g., Is there need for specialized training, transportation, etc. which may be above legislated minimum requirements?)
Action Required
Date:
Name and Signature:
Adapted from: WorkSafe BC First Aid Assessment Worksheet.
Some common issues for first aid include infection control and chemical exposures.
Infection control from blood borne pathogens is a serious issue while giving first aid. Be sure to have appropriate training. The OSH Answers on Routine Practices has more details.
If your workplace has chemicals, certain treatment steps may be required. The OSH Answers on First Aid for Chemical Exposure has more details.
CCOHS has prepared the publication The Safety Data Sheet - A Guide to First Aid Recommendations as a source of information for people interested in developing or evaluating first aid recommendations for Safety Data Sheets (SDS). It is also useful for developing first aid programs for responding to chemical exposures in workplaces.
Document last updated on July 25, 2018
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Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following shall apply:
Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, or designated representative.
Blood means human blood, human blood components, and products made from human blood.
Bloodborne Pathogens means pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Clinical Laboratory means a workplace where diagnostic or other screening procedures are performed on blood or other potentially infectious materials.
Contaminated means the presence or the reasonably anticipated presence of blood or other potentially infectious materials on an item or surface.
Contaminated Laundry means laundry which has been soiled with blood or other potentially infectious materials or may contain sharps.
Contaminated Sharps means any contaminated object that can penetrate the skin including, but not limited to, needles, scalpels, broken glass, broken capillary tubes, and exposed ends of dental wires.
Decontamination means the use of physical or chemical means to remove, inactivate, or destroy bloodborne pathogens on a surface or item to the point where they are no longer capable of transmitting infectious particles and the surface or item is rendered safe for handling, use, or disposal.
Director means the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or designated representative.
Engineering Controls means controls (e.g., sharps disposal containers, self-sheathing needles, safer medical devices, such as sharps with engineered sharps injury protections and needleless systems) that isolate or remove the bloodborne pathogens hazard from the workplace.
Exposure Incident means a specific eye, mouth, other mucous membrane, non-intact skin, or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials that results from the performance of an employee's duties.
Handwashing Facilities means a facility providing an adequate supply of running potable water, soap, and single-use towels or air-drying machines.
Licensed Healthcare Professional is a person whose legally permitted scope of practice allows him or her to independently perform the activities required by paragraph (f) Hepatitis B Vaccination and Post-exposure Evaluation and Follow-up.
HBV means hepatitis B virus.
HIV means human immunodeficiency virus.
Needleless systems means a device that does not use needles for:
(1) The collection of bodily fluids or withdrawal of body fluids after initial venous or arterial access is established; (2) The administration of medication or fluids; or (3) Any other procedure involving the potential for occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens due to percutaneous injuries from contaminated sharps.Occupational Exposure means reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials that may result from the performance of an employee's duties.
Other Potentially Infectious Materials means
(1) The following human body fluids: semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid, saliva in dental procedures, any body fluid that is visibly contaminated with blood, and all body fluids in situations where it is difficult or impossible to differentiate between body fluids; (2) Any unfixed tissue or organ (other than intact skin) from a human (living or dead); and (3) HIV-containing cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures, and HIV- or HBV-containing culture medium or other solutions; and blood, organs, or other tissues from experimental animals infected with HIV or HBV.Parenteral means piercing mucous membranes or the skin barrier through such events as needlesticks, human bites, cuts, and abrasions.
Personal Protective Equipment is specialized clothing or equipment worn by an employee for protection against a hazard. General work clothes (e.g., uniforms, pants, shirts or blouses) not intended to function as protection against a hazard are not considered to be personal protective equipment.
Production Facility means a facility engaged in industrial-scale, large-volume or high concentration production of HIV or HBV.
Regulated Waste means liquid or semi-liquid blood or other potentially infectious materials; contaminated items that would release blood or other potentially infectious materials in a liquid or semi-liquid state if compressed; items that are caked with dried blood or other potentially infectious materials and are capable of releasing these materials during handling; contaminated sharps; and pathological and microbiological wastes containing blood or other potentially infectious materials.
Research Laboratory means a laboratory producing or using research-laboratory-scale amounts of HIV or HBV. Research laboratories may produce high concentrations of HIV or HBV but not in the volume found in production facilities.
Sharps with engineered sharps injury protections means a nonneedle sharp or a needle device used for withdrawing body fluids, accessing a vein or artery, or administering medications or other fluids, with a built-in safety feature or mechanism that effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident.
Source Individual means any individual, living or dead, whose blood or other potentially infectious materials may be a source of occupational exposure to the employee. Examples include, but are not limited to, hospital and clinic patients; clients in institutions for the developmentally disabled; trauma victims; clients of drug and alcohol treatment facilities; residents of hospices and nursing homes; human remains; and individuals who donate or sell blood or blood components.
Sterilize means the use of a physical or chemical procedure to destroy all microbial life including highly resistant bacterial endospores.
Universal Precautions is an approach to infection control. According to the concept of Universal Precautions, all human blood and certain human body fluids are treated as if known to be infectious for HIV, HBV, and other bloodborne pathogens.
Work Practice Controls means controls that reduce the likelihood of exposure by altering the manner in which a task is performed (e.g., prohibiting recapping of needles by a two-handed technique).