The Ontario Government has announced steps to counter the growing problems of workplace violence in healthcare in the province. In an article in the Toronto Star, Labour Minister Kevin Flynn said in a statement,
“Workplace violence is a serious hazard in the health care sector and that’s simply not acceptable,” and further went on to say that “…Workplace violence in hospitals, to say nothing of other parts of the health-care sector, costs the province $23.8 million annually.
These steps include the formation of a cross body action group made up of senior Government, hospital CEO’s and the head of the Ontario Nurses’ Association. The formation of the group has a real sense of urgency with the first agendas being set for meeting a few weeks from now, in September. The announcement comes on the heels of a high profile case resulting in the labor ministry bringing charges against Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
The charges being made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act are:
“”for failing to provide sufficient information and supervision to protect a worker from workplace violence” and “failing to implement measures and procedures to protect workers from workplace violence.”
In the case, it was reported that a nurse of CAMH was attacked and heavily beaten by a patient last December.
It is encouraging that this growing and concerning problem has been investigated but more importantly that it is being actively addressed in Ontario who are showing great leadership in this area to the other provincial areas in Canada and indeed beyond it’s national borders.
GuardianMPS say:The move to classify, financially value and to put on record the impact of workplace violence in the healthcare sector gives a clear message that the arguments for protecting the wellbeing of nurses and healthcare staff are first and foremost a duty of care and good practice, but also now a proven key part of the business strategy for any self respecting healthcare provider.
GuardianMPS Mobile Personal Safety solutions for healthcare and social workers provide a lifeline for those working in the field or community in vulnerable and risky situations. The system provides 24/7/365 realtime support using any issued or even a worker owned cellphone. GuardianMPS smartphone apps can provide pinpoint details about mobile workers locations with GPS to assist in getting them help in an emergency. All GuardianMPS panic activations are connected directly to trained Central Station Monitoring attendants with on screen access to the details of the activation’s originator, ensuring that healthcare providers’ most important assets, their people, are protected, safe and secure. The full article text can be found here.