Community Physician Health and Safety Program

Why We Need Action on Community Physician Health and Safety

Community physicians and their staff need practical tools, training, and support to help keep workplaces healthy and safe while focusing on patient care. The Community Physician Health and Safety (CPHS) program provides easy-to-use resources to support psychological and physical health and safety, violence and injury prevention, and compliance requirements.

Creating and maintaining a health and safety program supports staff retention and recruitment, helps prevent workplace incidents, and reduces administrative burden. The program is guided by the Community Physician Health and Safety Oversight Group, which includes representatives from Doctors of BC and the Ministry of Health.

Funding for this initiative is provided by the Physician Master Agreement (2022) negotiated by Doctors of BC and the Ministry of Health.

Action We Are Taking

SWITCH BC’s Community Physician Health and Safety program expanded its topics to include de-escalation tools to meet the growing need for violence prevention supports. It engaged physicians and staff in clinics, trained medical office staff and post-secondary students, and participated in events throughout the province.

The program includes:

Web portal
Clinic assessments
Engagement and training

Web Portal

The CPHS web portal continues to grow as a central health and safety resource for community physicians and their staff. The portal provides a one-stop location for safety checklists, templates, policies, and training materials to help clinics meet health and safety requirements while reducing administrative time. A chatbot, named SWITCH Bot, was introduced to help users quickly find answers to their workplace health and safety questions. A Certificate of Completion recognizes physicians and staff who complete health and safety modules. Additional resources, including guidance on musculoskeletal injury prevention, liquid nitrogen safety, and respectful workplace practices, have been added. CPHS also developed de-escalation tools to help medical office staff feel more prepared to manage difficult or aggressive situations. The tools include strategies, tip sheets, videos, scripts, and learning resources to support safer interactions with patients and the public. These tools were so well received that they were adapted to support all health workers and are available on switchbc.ca

Clinic Assessments

Clinic assessments remain a highly valued part of the CPHS program. In 2025-2026, CPHS advisors completed 66 clinic assessments, supporting 432 physicians and 510 medical office staff across B.C. — exceeding the annual goal of 60 assessments, reflecting strong clinic interest and need.

These voluntary and confidential assessments help clinics identify risks and improve safety practices, including incident response, risk management, emergency preparedness, staff training, and violence prevention.

Post-visit evaluations show 93% participant satisfaction, with physicians and staff reporting that assessments help them better understand and address gaps in their clinic health and safety programs.

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Engagement and Training

Community engagement is a key strength of the CPHS program. CPHS Advisors work directly with physicians, medical office staff, and students to share practical health and safety skills, tools, and resources to build confidence in managing workplace challenges.

In 2025-2026, program staff delivered guest lectures to 220 students at BCIT and Langara College. Students participated in scenario-based learning focused on managing challenging patient interactions and workplace health and safety risks. Feedback was very positive, with 93% of Langara College students and 89% of BCIT students indicating they would likely use the de-escalation tools in future workplace situations.

CPHS also continues to expand its reach through professional conferences, town halls, and physician practice networks. In total, program staff connected with 1,815 physicians and medical office staff through community events and professional gatherings.

CPHS presented at the 2025 Canadian Conference on Physician Health, where other provinces expressed strong interest in the program’s approach to supporting community physician and staff health and safety.

What's Next?

CPHS will continue clinic assessments, strengthen digital tools, and improve training supports for physicians and clinic staff.

Future priorities include developing de-escalation tools for physicians, strengthening incident management support, and updating the web portal to make it easier to navigate and use. We will also develop a long-term evaluation of education and training initiatives and clinic assessments, and continue collaborating with physicians, medical office staff, and partners to ensure the program meets their needs.