A Message from the Board Chair
Over the past several years, there has been a significant increase in attention and investment in the sustainability of British Columbia’s health workforce. This includes new federal–provincial funding agreements, targeted provincial investments in workforce capacity and supervision, and the continued development of system-wide frameworks addressing occupational health and safety.
SWITCH BC is also one of these investments, and our Board of Directors has welcomed the opportunity to support the provision of sector-wide programs and services. We do this work in conjunction with all our health care partners — employers, bargaining associations, and Doctors of BC.
Our joint efforts matter.
Investments in mentorship, clinical supervision, education, and staffing capacity are essential not only to patient care but to the conditions under which care is delivered. I would be remiss not to mention the critically important recruitment measures that are ongoing — providing much-needed staffing support and relief.
Emerging provincial frameworks for occupational health and safety (OHS) and psychological safety signal the understanding that workforce wellbeing is foundational to patient care. SWITCH BC is proud to be part of these initiatives.
At the same time, the Board is mindful that progress is not consistently evident in outcomes across the sector.
Healthcare continues to report among the highest injury rates of any sector in the province, with particular pressures in long-term and community care. While activity is substantial, its impact may be uneven, fragmented, and insufficiently coordinated from an OHS perspective.
A central challenge for a sector as complex as ours is that current investments, while directionally positive, are not explicitly framed, measured, or reported as part of a provincial OHS strategy. Workforce initiatives, quality and safety programs, and psychological health and safety efforts often proceed in parallel, rather than as an integrated system of risk management and prevention.
There is an opportunity to strengthen this alignment.
Given the foundational purpose for which SWITCH BC was created, there is value in:
- clearer articulation of OHS as a strategic priority across the sector;
- improved integration of workforce, quality, and safety initiatives under a unified OHS lens;
- consistent measurements of outcomes and leading risk metrics; and
- visibility to our Board and health sector leadership on how current investments are translating into measurable improvements in staff health, safety, and wellbeing.
This is not a question of effort, but of coherence and impact.
The Ministry of Health’s decision to create a shared services organization responsible for system-wide legal, procurement, finance, and human resources in 2026 reinforces the need to streamline efforts and approaches.
You will see in this annual report the work of our staff, in collaboration with our Technical Advisory Committee. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I acknowledge and thank all for their commitment and creative and consistent efforts on our behalf and on behalf of those we serve — health workers.
The Board looks forward to working to further strengthen progress in these critical areas in the year ahead.
Roberta Ellis
SWITCH BC, Board Chair