December 12, 2024

Vancouver, BC – Physicians working in communities face the same occupational health and safety challenges as their colleagues who work in facilities and institutions, but, they do not always have access to the same health and safety prevention programs. Now, with the roll-out of the Community Physician Health and Safety program, community physicians will have the tools and resources to improve the psychological and physical health and safety of their workplace, including bullying and harassment claims, injury prevention, identifying hazards, and more.

Developed by SWITCH BC and Doctors of BC, this new program takes the guesswork out of finding regulations and legislation that applies to clinics and brings all of that information together in an easy to access web portal, digital guide, and free clinic assessments.

The user-friendly web portal employs interactive tools such as health and safety checklists, ready-made policies and procedures, and the ability to set reminders so that community physicians and their staff can maintain compliance, reduce the risk of incidents, and ultimately keep their workplaces healthier and safer for staff and patients.

Along with the web portal, community physicians and their staff also have access to free clinic assessments with SWITCH BC’s health and safety advisors. Clinic assessments are confidential and include onsite visits, education for staff about health and safety best practices, recommendations, and ongoing support, as needed.

“A safe workplace is vital to a doctor’s overall well-being and their ability to provide high quality patient care,” says Dr Ahmer Karimuddin, president of Doctors of BC.  “With these tools, community physicians and clinic staff will be empowered to develop a custom health and safety program to help prevent work-related illnesses and injuries, improve the health and well-being of themselves and their staff, reduce administrative burdens, and improve overall system effectiveness.”

“Having SWITCH BC’s occupational health and safety experts provide in-clinic assessments gives community physicians and their staff customized reports to prevent, maintain, and appropriately respond to workplace hazards,” says Victoria Schmid, CEO of SWITCH BC. “We’ve worked closely with Doctors of BC to best understand physicians’ needs and we will continuously improve the program.”

The program also provides a comprehensive digital guide that includes all legislative and regulatory requirements, tailored for community physicians and their unique work environments. The guide, developed with expert advice from the Ministry of Health and WorkSafeBC, will help empower physicians and their staff to navigate key health and safety topics and events effectively.

“We are feeling the strain of the health-care worker shortage as communities are growing, people are getting older, and many doctors and nurses are retiring,” says Josie Osborne, Minister of Health. “We’re working across government and with partners to attract and retain the family doctors B.C. needs. With these new health and safety tools, we’re giving family doctors more of the supports they need to focus on providing quality care people can count on.”

There are more than 8,000 community physicians in B.C. Funding of the Community Physician Health and Safety program of $1.23 million was provided through the 2022 Physician Master Agreement.