Health care workers have the right to be safe at work, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case. People working in healthcare are facing verbal and physical violence on the job. Fifty-nine percent of all violence-related time-loss claims in B.C. come from people working in healthcare and social services (WorkSafeBC) and a recent poll by the Hospital Employees’ Union found that 82% of healthcare aides/assistances face violence at work (HEU, 2023). With physical and verbal violence happening in the workplace, ensuring people have the training they need to stay safe is more important than ever.

That’s why SWITCH BC, with its partners that include unions, employers, physicians, WorkSafeBC, and the Ministry of Health, is updating the Provincial Violence Prevention Curriculum (PVPC) to provide an accessible provincewide program for the more than 300,000 people working in healthcare. As part of that work, we hosted engagement opportunities throughout the province to hear directly from the people who benefit from this training.

The What We Learned report shares the experiences of nearly 1,300 health care workers. It offers a representative snapshot of some of the opportunities and challenges within more than 110 different health sector roles and the current program.

We are grateful for the people working in healthcare throughout B.C. who took the time to participate in the PVPC needs analysis engagement opportunities. This work would not have been possible without the support of the facilitators from our partner organizations – unions, employers, and physicians – who helped with sessions and the location hosts who made it possible to have in-person focus groups and drop-in sessions throughout the province.

We know people working in healthcare have demanding schedules, and we value your time. Thank you.