Bullying and incivility are significant problems in workplaces, homes, schools, and online. SafeCare BC and its members can play a role in creating safe, healthy, and civil workplaces.

Manual client handling and other physical tasks can cause overexertion of your muscles to cause injury. Musculoskeletal injuries are sprains and strains to the muscles and surrounding tissues, which can have life-long impacts These are the leading type of injury for home and community care workers.

Dementia can affect behaviour and mood - but the care for persons with dementia aims to achieve the same goals - whether at home or in long-term care - safety for the person, family, and caregivers.

Use these resources to develop a stronger return to work program.

Exposure to hazardous drugs and infectious diseases poses a health risk. Hazardous drugs include antineoplastics, cytotoxic drugs, certain hormone therapies, antiviral drugs, antibiotics, and synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl and carfentanyl.

One in three Canadian adults has experienced a major weather-related disaster or emergency. The Government of Canada reports that we live “in a period of rapid climate change,” and high-risk weather is becoming severe, longer, and more frequent across Canada.  

Managing risk includes identifying hazards, assessing the risk, and deciding on control measures to eliminate or minimize the risk. When identifying hazards, it’s important to look for all the conditions and situations that could possibly harm your workers.

Mainly intended for the healthcare industry, this book provides an overview of current knowledge on hazardous drugs, describes how to perform a risk assessment and gives examples of best practices for each stage of handling hazardous drugs.

Violence refers to physical force that causes injury to a worker and includes any threatening statement or that gives you reasonable cause to believe that you are in danger.

The Home Care and Community Health Support Pocketbook was created to bring awareness to several health and safety issues faced in home and community care.

The air quality in a client’s home plays an important role in your health. Air quality can be affected by gases, smoke, mold, bacteria, temperature and humidity. In some cases, poor air quality may lead to allergic reactions or irritation to the eyes, nose and throat.

SafeCare BC works with partners throughout the industry to help create healthy and safe workplaces.

Statistics and numbers for long-term care and home and community care to help inform your health and safety program.

Prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza by taking proper infection control measures in your workplace.

Creating a safe work environment starts from the top. As a leader, you can play an important role in fostering a culture of health and safety to keep your staff safe.

When injuries at work happen, it is important to report the incident.

A Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee is required in workplaces where there are 20 or more employees. Small workplaces with more than nine but less than 20 employees must have a worker health and safety representative.

Taking care of your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Conditions such as stress, anxiety, and loneliness can negatively impact your overall well-being.

Musculoskeletal Injuries are one of the leading causes of workplace injuries, such as sprains and strains, in both long-term care and community health support services.

This article introduces methods for optimizing ventilation in the workplace. The information will be most helpful for managers of long-term care homes who are looking to increase their infection prevention and control measures as part of their respiratory protection program.

The National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, commonly known as "The Standard," is an innovative framework developed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada in collaboration with employers, unions, and experts in law and policy.

Public transportation refers to buses, trains, ferries, and taxi services.

Respirators—such as N95s—are an important layer of protection against infection. Respiratory hazards can include airborne contaminants, such as biological contaminants, dusts, mists, fumes, and gases.

In British Columbia, everyone in the workplace has specific responsibilities when it comes to health and safety - whether you're a worker, supervisor, employer, owner, or contractor.

Risk assessment involves thinking about how potential hazards may harm workers—and how severe that harm may be. Planning the appropriate amount of attention and control allows the implementation of controls to reduce risk.

Community and home care workers will often drive, or take transit, to a client’s home as part of their job. This means that if you are driving, your car is your mobile workplace while you are visiting clients. Being on the road can be dangerous if you are not prepared.

According to WorkSafeBC statistics, musculoskeletal injuries are the number one cause of staff injuries in BC’s continuing care sector. The economic cost of these injuries is easy to measure. It’s estimated that the cost of claims alone over the past five years is more than $85 million.

Whether you review your program all at once or break it down month by month, all elements of your health and safety program must be reviewed at least once a year.

Slips, trips and falls are the second most common injury for home and community health workers. As you enter a client's home, there may be uneven or slippery surfaces outside. Weather, outside environment, and clutter inside the home may result in tripping hazards.

Unrestrained animals, either on approach to a home or inside the home, can create an unsafe work environment.

When caring for vulnerable populations, we have an extra responsibility to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Employers and employees have a shared responsibility to prevent the spread of diseases in the workplace and avoid causing harm to residents and clients.

Working closely with clients and their families and friends, often under difficult circumstances and sometimes in isolated locations, can put you at risk of violence. Violence and aggressive behaviour are not part of your job.

When working alone, you may face a risk of violence, as the care you are providing may cause a client to feel nervous or agitated. Being exposed to violent or aggressive behaviour is not part of your job.

Workplace inspections are an essential incident prevention tool in an organization's occupational health and safety program. Inspections involve critically examining the workplace to identify and record hazards for corrective action.

While the employer has the ultimate responsibility for health and safety in a workplace, joint occupational health and safety committee play a vital role in workplace investigations.