SafeCare BC’s CEO Speaks on Crisis in Continuing Care with House of Commons Standing Committee on Heath

Burnaby, B.C. (June 5, 2019): SafeCare BC CEO Jennifer Lyle addressed the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health on June 4 on workplace violence in Canada’s continuing care sector.

Speaking on behalf of the Canadian Association of Long-Term Care, Lyle said the sector was in a state of crisis. She raised three main concerns: understaffing, lack of resources, and the increasing pressure faced by healthcare workers.

“Consider the numbers: Nationally, time-loss claims due to violence in health and social services have increased by over 65% in the past ten years,” Lyle said.

In B.C. alone, over 60% of all workplace violence claims come from the health and social services among major industry groups, despite the sector accounting for only 11% of the provincial workforce.

Workplace violence contributes to the vicious cycle of staffing shortages in continuing care. Staffing shortages lead to workplace injuries, and workplace injuries lead to staffing shortages. Lyle points to B.C.’s injury rates as an example of the crisis: “In 2018, the equivalent of nearly 650 full-time positions were lost.”

Lyle notes that the cost of workplace violence goes beyond numbers. This crisis's human toll affects the care providers and clients. When care providers experience mental and physical suffering, clients’ quality of care is negatively affected by the loss of a trusted provider. Staffing shortages add to the pressure care providers face each day.

The federal government, Lyle said, has opportunities to make an impact on this crisis. Investing in care home infrastructure, creating public-facing awareness campaigns, updating the national health human resources strategy, establishing nationally accepted core competencies for health care workers, and taking a leadership role to create national-level workplace safety data benchmarks are among the suggested actions.

Health care is a people-driven sector.

“The future of our health care system depends on its people — if we don’t take care of the care providers, who will be there to take care of us and our loved ones when we need it?” Lyle said.