B.C. MLA urges investigation on nurse safety after violent incidents

The MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale is raising concerns about nurse safety after she was notified of two violent incidents within the Fraser Health Authority.

The BC Conservatives’ critic for public safety, Elenore Sturko, says she was sent a report about two nurses who suffered severe injuries while treating a patient.

She claims the nurses may “not ever return to work,” and an investigation by WorkSafeBC was inadequate.

“One of the nurses was asked to do a course on preventing confrontations and dangerous situations, which I just find quite maddening,” said Sturko.

She says systemic issues are a result of staffing shortages in the health-care system, blaming the current provincial government.

“They’re being placed in a situation that is a true dilemma for nurses: between having to decide if they should treat a patient by themselves without a care partner –possibly putting themselves at risk of being assaulted– or whether they should delay care, waiting for someone to be able to assist them. And delaying care, for example, puts them at risk of being accused of malpractice or of not meeting care standards,” Sturko explained.

In a statement, WorkSafeBC says it’s looking further into Sturko’s complaints and reminds that safety is a legal obligation of the employer in B.C.

“WorkSafeBC regulations require that employers conduct a risk assessment, have policies and procedures in place to protect workers from the risk of violence, and provide instruction to workers,” it said in a statement.

Sturko says she has written to B.C.’s Ombudsperson, requesting a review of the cases and the overall safety of health-care workers in the province.

“We need to start a process of having these situations reviewed. Not investigated as one-offs by the health authority, each individual assault, but the totality of the circumstances in our health-care system right now, whether or not it is fair to health-care workers to be put into daily dilemmas.”