Vancouver - Kingsway Basic First Aid (OFA 1)

Yes and no. A Canadian Red Cross Emergency First Aid and CPR A or C is now equivalent to the WorkSafeBC Basic First Aid course. Standard First Aid and CPR C is equivalent to Intermediate First Aid. Both are accepted as occupational first aid courses. The reverse is not the same though! If a job requires Emergency First Aid or Standard First Aid, a Basic or Intermediate First Aid training course would NOT be acceptable. This is because these courses are a more comprehensive course where an occupational course is less comprehensive. One other difference is that the occupational courses are designed by WorksafeBC and focuses specifically on caring for injured coworkers, while Canadian Red Cross trainings cover a broad spectrum of contexts such as injuries that happen in the community or in the home.

BAsic First Aid (OFA 1) is a course that focuses on basic first aid skills and knowledge that are essential for handling life threatening emergencies, as well as handling more common minor injuries that can happen in the workplace. Topics include: Scene Assessment, Activating the Worksite Emergency Plan, Supporting Head and Neck, Opening Airway, Assessing for Breathing, Clearing Obstructed Airway. performing CPR with AED, Recognizing Shock, Controlling Bleeding, Roles and Responsibilities of the OFA, and more.

This question is complicated since there are a number of different types of first aid courses. For Occupational First Aid, there are 3 levels of first aid, simply named Basic First Aid, Intermediate First Aid, and Advanced First Aid. If you work in a marine environment and are required by Transport Canada to be certified in first aid, then there is Marine Basic First Aid and Marine Advanced First Aid. For first aid for those responsible for people in the community there is Emergency First Aid and Standard First Aid. If you are caring specifically for children, Emergency Childcare First Aid is probably the best fit. If you are interested in first for the outdoors or remote situations (or are required to take first aid as an outdoor guide) then there is the 20 hour Remote First Aid, or more advanced 40 hour Wilderness First Aid. There is also an 80 hour Wilderness First Responder course for professional responders responding to remote emergencies. For the professional responders there is also the 48 hour First Responder course and the more advanced 120 Hour Emergency Medical Responder.

Basic First Aid - CSA is an 8 hour course aimed at meeting the Canadian Standard for preparing workers to be first aid attendants in relatively low risk environments where a hospital is close by. Participants will learn basic first aid skills and knowledge that are essential for handling life threatening emergencies, as well as handling more common minor injuries that can happen in the workplace. Red Cross Emergency First Aid, and Red Cross Standard First Aid are now officially recognized by Worksafe BC as equivalent to Basic First Aid, formerly known as OFA 1.

Basic First Aid is a one day course meant to train a First Aid attendant in the basic skills necessary to provide first aid in low-risk environments, or for a smaller number of workers. Intermediate First Aid, sometimes called Standard First Aid and CPR C, is a 2 day course geared toward training First Aid attendants who might be responsible for a larger number of workers or more dangerous job sites.