Purpose

We developed to provide best practice recommendations for workplace parties to consider when fulfilling their responsibilities under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and Regulation 854 — Mines and Mining Plants regarding first aid readiness.

Objectives

  • help employers, health and safety committees or health and safety representatives understand first aid requirements in underground mines
  • better protect injured workers by improving first aid preparedness
  • reduce response time in underground mines

This resource does not replace the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its regulations. You should not use this resource as, or considerate it as, legal advice. Health and safety inspectors apply the law based on the facts in the workplace.

Legal requirements

An employer in an underground mine must meet the minimum requirements in two regulations.

  1. Regulation 1101 — First Aid Requirements under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (WSIA).
  2. Regulation 854 — Mines and Mining Plants under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).
    • Sections 281.1 to 281.3, and the First Aid Equipment Schedule, include the requirements to set up and maintain first aid stations and equipment
    • Sections 5.1 — 5.3 include the requirements to conduct a risk assessment of the workplace and develop measures to eliminate or control identified hazards

Employers should consider the results of the risk assessment when setting up first aid stations.

Background

Accidents can happen at any time. Without the proper first aid, a simple injury can turn into something much more severe. Many accidents and emergency situations can become fatal without immediate medical treatment. Employers must prepare their underground mine to treat injured workers by having:

  • properly trained workers
  • the necessary first aid equipment in the right places
  • correct response capabilities
  • a first aid trained supervisor, or other trained workers
  • support above ground from more skilled personnel or through ambulance services

Above ground first aid rooms

Location

The purpose of the first aid room is to provide:

  • backup help in the event of an underground injury
  • an extra level of care once you transport the casualty to the surface

Employers should locate the above ground first aid room:

  • close to the entrance of the mine that workers would transport an injured worker to
  • in existing buildings near the headframe or a ramp entrance

Equipment and size requirements

The first aid room must be:

  • equipped with all required items listed in the First Aid Equipment Schedule and those identified in section 281.2 of Regulation 854 and sections 8-11 of Regulation 1101
  • equipped with a communication system that allows direct contact with workers underground, local ambulance and hospital services
  • big enough that workers can carry an injured person on a stretcher and allow enough room for the first aid attendant to work

The instruments and first aid material should be emergency ready, properly stored and kept clean.

The required list of supplies for a first aid room is a minimum requirement. Additional supplies and equipment should be available to make full use of a person trained in advanced first aid.

Staffing

The worker in charge of the first aid room:

Certificates and qualification

Certificates of qualification will expire. Employers must ensure that certificate holders take refresher or recertification courses required to maintain their qualifications.

If 200 workers or more are working in any one shift, you must display a valid and up-to-date St. John Ambulance Standard First Aid Certificate, or its equivalent, in the first aid room.

Equivalent qualifications to Standard St. John Ambulance First Aid — Mine Rescue include:

  • registered nurse
  • Advanced Emergency Medical Care Assistant (AEMCA) given through the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

When the attendant is absent from the first aid room, there must be a reliable method of communication available to contact them. Effective communications are required to notify the attendant when needed to prepare the first aid room or provide help. The communication system should access all areas on site where the attendant may travel. You can notify the attendant above ground with:

  • pagers
  • sirens
  • horns
  • radios
  • cellular phones
  • call forwarding

The first aid attendant must not perform other work that:

  • could harm them
  • affect their ability to provide first aid

The employer must review the nature of the attendant’s regular work on a regular basis, using a risk-based approach for each site. The employer needs to consider whether the attendant is required to:

  • work underground
  • perform hazardous tasks

Take the following factors into account when reviewing the attendant’s availability to provide first aid:

  • ease and reliability of notification
  • availability and reliability of transportation to the first aid room or to the mine entrance, where necessary
  • ability of the attendant to be ready at the first aid room or at the mine entrance before the injured worker arrives on surface

At remote sites accessed by air transport, it may not be possible to transport an injured worker due to poor weather. In these cases, the employer should consider having a nurse or paramedic on site who is authorized to give injections and provide care under the direction of a physician by phone.

Underground first aid

In addition to the above ground first aid stations, the mine must have first aid stations and equipment underground.

Trained personnel

A mine must have enough workers available on each shift that can provide first response to an injury. The required number of first aid personnel is based on the mine rescue handbook and comprehensive risk assessment. This means they need to receive training for:

  • extrication equipment
  • rescue methods appropriate for that mine

The mine should have a different person trained in extrication and rescue than the first aid attendant. Extrication duties may interfere with the ability of a first aid attendant to administer first aid.

First-line supervisors must have:

  • current certification in first aid, equivalent to Standard St. John Ambulance
  • the appropriate Common Core Supervisor Training

Training in CPR and extrication is strongly recommended for supervisors.

It is common that many other workers, especially rescue team members receive training in:

  • first aid and extrication
  • Standard St. John Ambulance First Aid — Mine Rescue

Employers should maintain an up-to-date list of the names and telephone numbers of all employees trained in first aid and extrication. Keep this list in the first aid room.

First aid equipment and stations

A first aid station must:

  • have the required first aid equipment as listed in the schedule for first aid equipment in Regulation 854 — Mines and Mining Plants and set out in Regulation 1101 — First Aid Requirements.
  • be located near a work area
  • be properly marked
  • have phones or other voice communication systems with the surface

This will ensure you have the correct supplies nearby to:

  • treat injuries
  • stop any bleeding
  • immobilize fractures
  • treat shock
  • transport an injured worker out of the mine

Employers should consider keeping extra first aid supplies, rescue and extrication equipment at first aid stations.

Additional first aid locations

In addition to the primary first aid stations, the WSIA requires additional first aid stations throughout the workplace. The additional first aid locations will help ensure people can provide quick treatment to any worker, regardless of where they are in the mine. Locate these throughout the mine where the first aid room is not easily accessible.

These first aid locations must:

  • have all required first aid supplies and equipment placed together in a box or container large enough that each item is in plain view
  • include phones or other voice communication systems with the surface
  • be easily accessible
  • be kept near the working areas of the mine. You may need many stations on large levels where workers are in many work areas
  • be moved as the mining develops
  • be located as near to the work areas as possible without the likelihood of damage by machinery or blasting

Also, seal the following supplies in a container to keep them clean, dry and serviceable:

  • two blankets
  • six triangular bandages
  • three pressure dressings

Each box or container of equipment should include a list of:

  • supplies and equipment, including any rescue and extrication equipment stored at that location
  • other rescue and extrication equipment and its location
  • procedures and emergency telephone numbers

Rescue and extrication equipment

You must determine the type of rescue and extrication equipment that is appropriate for the mine, and how often you need to inspect it. Before you decide, you must:

  • consult with the joint health and safety committee (JHSC) or health and safety representative. The JHSC should consult with mine rescue team members
  • consult with the workers if there is no JHSC or health and safety representative

Examples of special equipment that you may consider are:

  • lifting bags and blocking material
  • ropes and pulleys or an open hole rescue system for raising or lowering injured workers
  • hammers, nails, saws, wedges, jacks and other hand tools
  • hydraulic equipment, including rock splitter, bolt cutters, lifting jacks and Jaws of Life®

The employer must ensure that:

  • a person who is knowledgeable and trained in rescue methods, extrication and mine equipment is available
  • training is available to mine rescue team members to use the equipment
  • this equipment is available at all district mine rescue stations
  • a phone or other voice communication is available where you store the equipment

The employer should keep this equipment at central locations of the mine. Examples of central locations include:

  • mine rescue substations
  • first aid stations
  • headframes or close to the shaft

The employer may not require the storage of all identified special rescue and extrication equipment at each location.

Inspect the equipment and supplies

The employer shall ensure that an inspection at set intervals is conducted on:

  • all equipment and supplies in underground first aid stations
  • rescue and extrication equipment that may be in other locations
  • all equipment at the agreed upon intervals
  • first aid supplies at least quarterly
  • special extrication equipment at a frequency recommended by the manufacturer

Recording inspections

The employer is required to keep a record of all inspections.

First aid stations must have an inspection card with spaces for the employer to record the:

  • date of the most recent inspection of the first aid box
  • signature of the person who did the inspection

Recording first aid events

Under Regulation 1101 — First Aid Requirements the employer must keep a record of all of the following:

  • all circumstances respecting an accident as described by the injured worker
  • the date and time of its occurrence
  • the names of witnesses
  • the nature and exact location of the injuries to the worker
  • the date, time and nature of each first aid treatment given

First aid stations should have a log book to record first aid treatments. This will aid the employer with investigations to ensure small incidents do not become big ones.