SafeCare BC Logo
SafeCare BC Logo
Programs & Services

Programs and Services

View All
We are dedicated to providing comprehensive occupational health and safety (OHS) consulting services tailored to your needs.
View Service
Our Programs
Psychological health and safety, often called workplace mental health, encompasses principles and practices to foster a supportive, respectful, and psychologically safe work environment.
View Service
The Provincial Violence Prevention Curriculum is recognized as best-practice in violence prevention training for health care workers.
View Service
Guidelines & Regulations

Guidelines and Regulations

View All
Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (OHSR), Part 5: Chemical Agents and Biological Agents – Emergency Planning came into effect on February 3, 2025. Changes include additional requirements to minimize the risk, likelihood, and harm caused by an emergency involving hazardous substances.   Hazardous substances include biological, chemical or physical hazards that may reasonably […]
View News Story
WorkSafeBC has acknowledged an error in calculating the 2025 insurance premiums that are paid by our two member employer groups–those providing community health support services (classification unit 766006) and those in long-term care (classification unit 766011).
View News Story
Guidelines and Regulations
Regulatory News
Safety Huddle

Hazardous drugs

Protect your team from the risks of hazardous drugs. Our safety huddle provides essential training for BC's long-term care and home support staff on how to identify these drugs and reduce their risk of exposure. Use this guide and its discussion questions to ensure everyone knows the proper safety procedures and where to find your organization's exposure control plan.
A pile of white pills with a red capsule in the centre. On the capsule is a skull and crossbones.
Hazardous drugs | Safety huddle

Protect your team from the risks of hazardous drugs. Our safety huddle provides essential training for BC's long-term care and home support staff on how to identify these drugs and reduce their risk of exposure. Use this guide and its discussion questions to ensure everyone knows the proper safety procedures and where to find your organization's exposure control plan.

Instructions

Read the background out loud and use the guiding questions to facilitate a discussion about hazardous drugs.

After this huddle staff should be able to:

  • Identify what a hazardous drug is
  • Reduce their risk of exposure to hazardous drugs

Notes to the huddle leader

  • Review your organization’s exposure control plan for hazardous drugs. This document should include what training is required, who should receive the training, and what should be done in the event of exposure.

Background

Hazardous drugs are used for a variety of treatments, including cancer, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, auto-immune disorders and HIV. 

Hazardous drug administration is becoming more common in home care and other community health services. An exposure control plan is required when any worker may interact with a hazardous drug. 

Your exposure control plan will describe the work procedures for safe interaction with hazardous drugs and waste. 

Exposure to hazardous drugs and waste can occur through handling bedpans, catheter bags, vomit bowls, bed linen, soiled clothing or spills. Training for safe handling procedures for hazardous drugs and waste must be in place to prevent exposure to staff. 

Hazardous drugs may be toxic when inappropriately handled and should only be administrated by trained and authorized staff. 

Guiding questions

  • What training is required to handle hazardous drugs? 
  • Where do you review your exposure control plan? 
  • How would you know if a person in care is receiving hazardous drugs? 
  • What should you do if you are exposed to hazardous drugs? 
  • Who should you ask if you need more information? 
Downloads
Hazardous drugs | Safety huddle
Protect your team from the risks of hazardous drugs. Our safety huddle provides essential training for BC's long-term care and home support staff on how to identify these drugs and reduce their risk of exposure. Use this guide and its discussion questions to ensure everyone knows the proper safety procedures and where to find your organization's exposure control plan.
Download
577.5KB
External Resources
This resource is not hosted by SafeCare BC. The button below link will take you to an external website.
View Resource
Hazardous drugs

Additional Resources

An exposure control plan is a document that describes how workers will be protected from occupational exposures such as infectious diseases or a hazardous substance in the workplace
Files Attached
View Checklist

More Safety Huddles

Equip your team with the skills to spot workplace hazards before they cause an injury. This safety huddle guides staff through conducting an environmental scan, a key part of any point of care risk assessment. Discover how to build a proactive safety culture and protect your healthcare team.
Files Attached
View Safety Huddle
In this huddle, we’ll review safe and effective cleaning and disinfecting practices in the workplace. Staff will learn how to follow workplace policies, clean and disinfect shared equipment and high-touch areas, and select the right personal protective equipment (PPE) for different cleaning tasks. We’ll also cover where to find important information such as safety data sheets and product labels, which explain safe handling and spill response procedures. Use the guiding questions to spark discussion about common high-risk areas, frequently shared items, and strategies for reducing the spread of infectious diseases.
Files Attached
View Safety Huddle
Providing compassionate end-of-life care is a profound part of the job, but it can also lead to grief and loss for frontline staff. This can impact well-being and team morale. Fostering a workplace culture where open conversations about grief are supported is crucial for the health and safety of your team. Discover how to recognize grief in the workplace and provide essential support to your healthcare staff.
Files Attached
View Safety Huddle
Working with clients or residents and their families is not always easy. You may not be able to control how others act, but you can control how you respond.
Files Attached
View Safety Huddle
When a critical incident impacts your team, it's vital to have a safe space to talk and heal. Our critical incident debriefing tools provide leaders and frontline staff in BC's long-term care and home support sectors with a structured way to discuss what happened, ensuring everyone feels supported with dignity and respect. Discover how to create a culture of psychological safety, identify available resources, and learn to navigate these challenging conversations to promote recovery and well-being.
Files Attached
View Safety Huddle
This SafeCare BC safety huddle provides guidance on how to utilize your Joint Occupational Health and Safety (JOHS) Committee to improve workplace safety. Learn how to report safety hazards, understand the role of the JOHS committee, and find JOHS resources. Ideal for healthcare workers and safety training.
Files Attached
View Safety Huddle
A strong organizational culture fosters employee engagement, collaboration, and productivity, while a weak or toxic culture can lead to dissatisfaction and high turnover.
Files Attached
View Safety Huddle
Learn to recognize feeling unsettled, use effective self-settling strategies in situations self-setting may be helpful.
Files Attached
View Safety Huddle
Browse by Resource Type
SafeCare BC Logo
©2025 SafeCare BC | All rights reserved.
We strive to empower those working in the continuing care sector to create safer, healthier workplaces by fostering a culture of safety through evidence-based education, leadership, and collaboration.
cross