Protecting the caregivers

By Jeffrey Smith

Sometimes those who provide care need care themselves.

The medical profession is not an easy one to pursue, given the responsibilities and expectations that come with it. Doctors face long hours and must know reams of information about the intricacies of the human body. Paramedics deal with traumatic situations that have to be dealt with in urgent timeframes. And nurses are the front-line caregivers in hospitals and other medical facilities, ensuring treatment and care for all manner of medical issues, not to mention dealing with friends and relatives of the infirm.

The last thing people in such positions need to face is workplace violence or harassment. But they do.

A recent study by the Canadian Federation of Nurse Unions (CFNU) has revealed that 61 per cent of nurses have faced harassment and were poorly treated at work in the past 12 months. Just think about that for a second. Think about what it would be like to be harassed at work and how much more difficult it would make the job. Those who have faced workplace harassment know it can really make going to work miserable. And almost two-thirds of nurses in Canada face that when they go to work. Not a way to treat people who have decided to dedicate their careers to looking after those who are sick.

As a point of comparison, a Vector Poll study in 2016 found that only 15 per cent of workers in other industries were verbally or physically abused on the job in the previous 24 months.

A worst-case scenario came about in the infamous 2005 murder of Windsor, Ont., nurse Lori Dupont by her former boyfriend, who was a doctor at the hospital where she worked. The doctor had tried to commit suicide following the end of their relationship and took time off work. When he returned to work a few months later, he was monitored and many of his colleagues felt threatened by his behaviour. But nothing was done and he stabbed Dupont in the hospital’s recovery room, then injected himself with a fatal dose of anesthetic.

Nurses and other front-line medical staff face challenges unique to the nature of their jobs: people facing both physical and mental trauma of all types and all backgrounds. Throw in the power imbalance between nurses and doctors, and there is serious potential for violence and/or harassment from patients and colleagues. Indeed, a 2015 WorksafeBC study revealed that 40 per cent of injuries from workplace violence in British Columbia were suffered by nurses. The profession with the second-most injuries was law enforcement, way behind at 14 per cent.

It’s no surprise that nurses often have a high rate of absenteeism because of the physical and mental injuries they can sustain in the course of their work, which then contributes to more stress for other nurses due to short-staffing. But despite the unique nature of the medical sector, employers such as hospitals and clinics still have a duty to protect their employees as all employers do.

A 2007 inquest into the Dupont murder resulted in several recommendations, such as prioritizing patient and staff safety in public hospitals, ensuring hospital by-laws put patient and staff safety ahead of doctors’ rights to practice, having hospitals implement a formal procedure to deal with doctors who show disruptive behaviour, ensuring workplaces implement a domestic violence policy, and requiring hospitals to have someone to specifically deal with abuse and harassment complaints.

Some of these recommendations have been implemented in Ontario, and health and safety obligations relating to workplace violence and harassment for employers in all sectors in the province were ramped up by Bill 168 a few years ago and Bill 132 last year. And some jurisdictions across the country are gradually recognizing the entitlement of first responders to workers’ compensation for work-related post-traumatic disorder (PTSD).

The wheels are turning for front-line medical workers like nurses towards getting them protection from the risks of workplace violence and harassment that can exist in the medical environment and medical sector employers must be aware of not only their increasing obligations but also how to recognize potential problems and nip them in the bud. Unfortunately, as the above-mentioned studies show, there is more to be done to ensure the caregivers are cared for themselves.