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Regulation Review: Part 5

Workers in Manitoba have legislated regulations to help keep us safe, day in and day out – no matter what job we do. These regulations are a part of the framework for building safe workplaces in Manitoba.

The Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health Act and associated regulations are in place to protect you – the worker – from workplace hazards and the risks they present. Manitoba Regulation 217/2006 is a 44-part document containing requirements and guidelines for workplaces, including site-specific rules and other valuable information to prevent harm from coming to workers.

Over the coming months, Safety Check is profiling one part of the Regulation in each issue to help remind you of the Regulation’s specifics and to help keep safety top-of-mind for all Manitobans.

This issue, it’s Regulation Part 5 – First Aid.

Meeting first aid requirements is especially essential for workplaces, as – though we aim to prevent incidents altogether – first aid practices could make all the difference in the case of an incident.

Summary of Requirements

  • Provincial regulations state the number of first aiders that must be present at any given time.
  • These numbers are calculated by a worker-to-first-aider ratio and are found within the Regulation itself.
  • Workers must be advised of the location for first aid.
  • Employers must compile and maintain a list of first aiders, then post the list somewhere visible.
  • Employers must allow first aiders to provide prompt and adequate first aid.
  • Employers must ensure no loss of pay or other benefits as a result of providing first aid.
  • Employers must ensure a first aider has adequate time off regular work to attend required first aid training.
  • Employers are to keep a record of illness and injury for five years.
  • If a workplace contains hazards that create risk not adequately addressed by the Regulation, appropriate first aid must be provided.
  • If there is a risk of asphyxia or poisoning at the workplace, arrangements must be made to immediately provide first aid, medical attention or other first aid appropriate to the nature and probable effects.
  • The Regulation (in its full form) states the number of first aid kits required for a given workplace.
  • Employers must provide personal first aid kits for workers working alone.
  • Employers must provide first aid rooms at a workplace where 100 or more workers are employed per shift in work that is not low-hazard work and also at a construction or industrial camp where the camp is provided by the employer as a residence separate from the workplace.
  • First aid rooms must be located in an easily-accessible area; adequately lit, ventilated and heated; of adequate size to accommodate a stretcher; complete with instructions on how and where to access a first aider, a communication system capable of communicating with medical facilities, a permanently installed sink with hot and cold water, a bed with a moisture-protected mattress and two pillows, items listed in Schedule C; clearly identified, sanitary and clean, and used exclusively for first aid.
  • The director1 may require additional first aid services, allow the employer provide alternative adequate first aid services, publish the name and other relevant information of a person or organization that provides first aid training that meets the requirements of Schedule A.
  • Ill or injured workers must report to the area where first aid services are available.
  • Transportation of seriously ill or injured workers must be at the employer’s expense. If a licensed ambulance service is operated from a location within 30 minutes’ travel time, a means of communicating with the ambulance service must be available. If not, a means of transportation must be provided.
  • Any contamination of blood or other bodily fluids must be disposed of or cleaned by a competent person.

       

      Regulation Part 5 also includes definitions recently added to first aid procedures, as well as three additional parts – first aider qualifications, first aid kit contents and first aid room requirements.

      Download the Regulation in full.  

      1The “director” referred to throughout the workplace safety and health regulations is the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Workplace Safety and Health Division (Manitoba Labour and Immigration).