How does OSHA interpret the term “readily available?”

OSHA clarified the term “readily available” in a Letter of Interpretation (LOI) dated March 23, 2007. The following information is from that LOI.

The employer must ensure that “... adequate first aid is available in the critical minutes between the occurrence of an injury and the availability of physician or hospital care for the injured employee.”

The letter further explains: “While the first standards do not prescribe a number of minutes, OSHA has long interpreted the term ’near proximity’ to mean that emergency care must be available within no more than 3-4 minutes from the workplace. Medical literature establishes that, for serious injuries such as those involving stopped breathing, cardiac arrest, or uncontrolled bleeding, first aid treatment must be provided within the first few minutes to avoid permanent medical impairment or death. Accordingly, in workplaces where serious accidents such as those involving falls, suffocation, electrocution, or amputation are possible, emergency medical services must be available within 3-4 minutes, if there is no employee on the site who is trained to render first aid.”

OSHA does exercise discretion in enforcing the first aid requirements in particular cases. For example, OSHA recognizes that in workplaces, such as offices, where the possibility of such serious work-related injuries is less likely, a longer response time of up to 15 minutes may be reasonable.