ONA spotlights safety gaps in health-care facilities
11 Sept 06 -- The province's health-care system is failing to follow many of the regulations set out under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, putting registered nurses (RNs) at risk of violence and injury.“ONA has sent a letter to administrators and human resource directors to ensure they provide a safe work environment for their RNs and other staff,” said Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN, ONA President. “We have been working with all levels of government, other trade unions and our members to ensure they are properly protected from workplace hazards, but repeatedly hear back that a number of health and safety issues remain unresolved.”
Workplace hazards include exposure to infectious diseases, accident reporting, questionable supervisor competency and especially, incidents of violence.
A copy of the letter is available here.
“ONA expects employers to take every precaution reasonable to protect workers,” says Haslam-Stroud. “Yet even after nurse Lori Dupont was brutally murdered in Windsor last November, many employers do not have effective violence prevention policies and practices in place. Others remain sorely inadequate.”
Administrators and health human resource directors are obligated to identify workplace hazards, protect workers and consult with their organizations' Joint Health and Safety Committees in the development of all worker health and safety policies, programs and training. Research shows that nurses face a greater risk of being injured on the job than all other professionals. ONA is urging employers to demonstrate more vigilance, particularly with regard to:
- Developing workplace violence policies and practices with their Joint Health and Safety Committee;
- Ensuring that supervisors fully understand their duties under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to address nurses' health and safety concerns. Full training must be provided for all;
- Ensuring that all workplace accidents and illnesses are fully reported to Joint Health and Safety Committees, as required by the Act. Many employers incorrectly cite privacy legislation as a reason to withhold information from these joint committees;
- Ensuring that every reasonable precaution is taken to protect workers from unknown, airborne diseases, such as SARS and possibly a flu pandemic.