Occupational health and safety

The World Health Organization has declared a world H1N1 flu pandemic. It is uncertain how serious this pandemic will be in terms of how many people infected will be severely affected. However, because H1N1 is a new virus, many people may have little or no immunity against it, and illness may be more severe and widespread as a result. In...

HSA members and stewards, including OHS stewards, are encouraged to help the union gather information about the state of preparedness in your facility for a possible pandemic. Please complete a short online survey to help HSA gather information about the extent to which Health Authorities are prepared to protect the health of employees, as well as patients and their families...

Ergonomic workstation resources available The Injury Prevention department at OHSAH will release two new print items this month: a workstation assessment checklist (Computer Workstation Assessment Checklist) and poster (Avoid Discomfort at your Workstation). Both the poster and the checklist contain visual guidelines to personal workstation improvements. To order your copy, you can contact @email or download them from our webpage...

In recent years, HSA activists at Mission Memorial Hospital have spearheaded efforts to call attention to a possible cancer cluster at their workplace. The employer, HSA, and The Occupational Heath and Safety Agency for Healthcare (OHSAH) participated in a lengthy process on this topic. Following this investigation of the site, OHSAH is now conducting a survey of past and current...

Health care workers providing direct care ... in the same room or in close contact ... to SRI patients are advised to wear properly fit-tested N-95 respirators The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is urging health care workers and members of the public to take note of concerns raised by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)...

April 28th, 2009 marks the 25th Anniversary of the Day of Mourning. Held in 100 countries around the world, it is a day to reflect on the terrible toll of workers killed and injured on the job. Last year, 160 workers in BC were killed or died as the result of an occupational disease. Since 2002, workplace fatalities and serious...

March 9, 2009 OHSAH is pleased to announce that it will be moving forward with the development of the OHSAH Learning Portal, which will provide BC's healthcare stakeholders with access to a centralized repository of healthcare occupational health and safety (OHS) education and training resources. Two of the primary goals of the Learning Portal are to reduce duplication and increase...

Workers' Perspectives: A Violence in Healthcare survey The Provincial Violence Prevention Steering Committee (PVPSC) wants to hear about workers' experiences with violence to create an accurate picture of violence in healthcare workplaces. This survey is the first tool of its kind that will help identify priority areas for violence prevention efforts. If you are a BC healthcare worker, you are...

Presented by The Occupational Health & Safety Agency for Healthcare in BC Inside PEARS is a quarterly e-newsletter intended to keep you informed on what is happening in the PEARS community. This newsletter is a forum for sharing success stories and best practices, and for learning about new research and issues impacting PEARS programs across the province.Click the image at...

Between 2003 and 2007 more than 10 per cent of BC health care and social assistance claims were violence-related, according to WorkSafeBC. Taking into account incidents of violence that are not reported or do not result in a claim, a true picture of violence faced by BC health care workers is still unknown. The Provincial Violence Prevention Steering Committee (PVPSC)...