First aid requirements in BC: the assessment that sets the attendants, kits and transport
A bridge rehabilitation adds a second shift. The superintendent copies the daytime first-aid sheet because the site is an hour from a hospital, without checking ambulance access, worker count or the second shift’s actual arrangements.
Use the current assessment rather than an old distance shortcut. WorkSafeBC’s guidance weighs worker numbers, hazard rating and workplace class, then additional barriers and needs. A remote workplace depends on whether a road ambulance can reach it from its base within 30 minutes under normal conditions; this is different from travel to hospital. Less-accessible work areas are a separate consideration. Read the current tables and worksheet against the actual workplace before choosing attendants, supplies, facilities or emergency transportation.
Connect the assessment with received coverage
- Establish the actual workplace and workforce. Identify where workers will be and the maximum number typically present, including relevant supervisors, office staff and transient attendance. WorkSafeBC explains how differing shifts and multiple-employer workplaces affect the assessment. Receive the responsible employer and prime-contractor arrangement rather than relying on an undated shared sheet. Describe uncertainties clearly so the person completing the assessment can resolve them before the shift depends on its coverage.
- Check hazards and access separately. Compare the current hazard information with the actual activities and likely injuries. Establish ambulance access, work-area accessibility and the available ways to reach and move an injured person through the appropriate assessment process. An urban address can still contain a difficult-to-access work area. Record the actual basis for the determination; the worksheet is not a rescue procedure or permission to improvise transport with whatever vehicle is nearby.
- Receive the required arrangements. Use the current applicable tables and assessment to identify the needed attendants, equipment, supplies, facilities and transportation, including additional needs. Then confirm what is actually available for the relevant shift. Keep a proposed booking or kit order visibly pending until received and checked. Connect the result with written first-aid procedures and qualified response arrangements rather than assuming a completed assessment means the site already has the necessary resources.
- Keep the written assessment current. WorkSafeBC requires review within 12 months and when a significant operational change affects the assessment, with applicable worker consultation. Retain the dated determination, received arrangements and unresolved matters. Changes in shift, access, staffing or activities should reach the responsible assessor. Keep confidential treatment records in their proper restricted record; a coverage worksheet and a public site notice do not justify exposing workers’ medical information.
Common mistakes
- Using hospital distance as the ambulance-response classification.
- Copying another shift’s headcount and availability.
- Calling an ordered kit received coverage.
- Leaving the assessment unchanged after significant operational changes.
Checklist
The coverage decision records
- Actual workplace, workers and responsible assessment.
- Current hazard, access and transport factors.
- Applicable tables and additional needs checked.
- Received resources and connected first-aid procedures.
- Dated review and changed-condition follow-up.
Check your understanding
The site is an hour from hospital. Does that fact alone establish its first-aid classification and resources?
