Latest news with #WorkSafeBC
CBC
3 days ago
- Health
- CBC
WorkSafeBC data shows 'concerning' rate of injury among hospital security guards
Social Sharing It's been nearly two years since the province created a new class of hospital security guard, relational security officers or RSOs, in response to high-profile assaults against nurses and health care staff. Different from a typical security guard, the province says the new position focuses on trauma-informed training and de-escalation and prevention. But new data obtained by CBC News shows the employees meant to keep hospitals safe are themselves being injured at an alarming rate. WorkSafeBC data for accepted short and long-term disability claims by hospital security guards show nearly 170 accepted injury claims last year. At that rate, it means security guards meant to protect health-care staff and patients from violence are being injured nearly every other day. Accepted injury claims were highest in Fraser and Providence Health: 50 accepted claims in Fraser Health, 46 in Providence Health. Security guards in Interior Health were off work due to injury 27 times, 22 times in Vancouver Coastal Health. There were 20 accepted injury claims in Island Health. Three relational security guards who work in Lower Mainland hospitals spoke to CBC News, describing the injuries they've experienced on a regular basis, which have led to WorkSafeBC claims, time off work and physical and emotional injuries. CBC News is protecting their identities and workplaces because they're worried about punishment for speaking out. "I've scratched up my knee. I've broken skin," one security officer told CBC News. "Being spat on, being headbutted, being bitten by violent patients." His job is to keep nurses, doctors and patients safe inside B.C. hospitals. But he says that the job often puts him and his colleagues at risk. And the three officers say they're not being given the training or the tools to keep themselves safe. Most hospitals use a mix of RSOs — who are unionized health authority employees — and private security guards. WATCH | Fraser Health nurses speak out about violence: Nurses speak out against violence, machete attack at Fraser Health ERs 1 month ago The injury rates are a concern for the Hospital Employees' Union (HEU), which represents the province's 750 RSOs. "It's concerning. That could be the tip of the iceberg," says Lynn Bueckert, secretary business manager for the HEU. "Not all workers report for a whole bunch of reasons." The three RSOs who spoke to CBC say the health authorities are placing limits on the tools and de-escalation techniques they can use when someone becomes violent. WATCH | Nurses' union raises alarm over violence: B.C. Nurses' Union raises alarm over surge in violence against health-care staff 5 months ago The B.C. Nurses' Union is calling a recent assault on a health-care worker at a Langley hospital another wake up call. It says violence against workers is on the rise at a time when B.C. is trying to recruit doctors and nurses into the province. Michelle Morton reports on the call for more security in health-care facilities. For example, RSOs working in Fraser Health and Providence Health are not allowed to use handcuffs to restrain a violent individual. Those who spoke to CBC News say that puts them at further risk of injury as they try to hold someone until police arrive. "Sometimes we have to call the police to help us restrain them because they're so violent and we're being assaulted," one security officer said. "When it comes time to actually dealing with violence, dealing with assaults on staff, dealing with threats and property damage, we don't have the tools to take care of the problem effectively. I feel that we're social workers that carry a radio and a set of keys." Critic wants peace officers B.C. Conservative public safety critic Elenore Sturko says the injury rates should be a wake-up call that the current system is not working. "Seeing the number of injury claims that have been reported to WorkSafe by RSOs is further confirmation that they are not adequately trained to deal with the level of violence they are seeing in the workplace," she said. Sturko would like to see the province employ peace officers in hospitals. They'd be equipped with a firearm, Taser and handcuffs and undergo an intensive six-week training course, similar to transit police. That's the system that exists in Alberta hospitals. There, protective services officers must complete a six-week training course, which is similar to that provided to correctional officers or sheriffs. The union echoes the call for better training and higher staffing levels. "We know from talking to our members they need more training … in de-escalation," Bueckert said. "They also need more staffing." WATCH | Violence at Port Moody hospital raises alarms: Violent incident at hospital in Port Moody, B.C., sparks worries among health-care workers 7 months ago Police in Port Moody are investigating after a violent incident involving a patient at Eagle Ridge Hospital. Investigators say they were called to the emergency room after reports of a man with a machete. As Meera Bains reports, the B.C. Nurses Union is calling for better security at the facility. However, the union does not support putting peace officers in hospitals. "Relational security guards are not protecting buildings, they're protecting people. And people come into health care with very challenging needs," Bueckert said. Fraser Health says in a statement RSOs undergo rigorous training, which is tailored to the complex needs of the health-care environment. The health authority says it is reviewing its policy on security teams' use of handcuffs and expects officers to be able to use them in the coming months. Health Minister Josie Osborne was not available for an interview, but the Health Ministry says it is looking into other tools to make hospitals safer, such as using artificial intelligence to detect weapons in emergency rooms — something that's been done in other Canadian hospitals. For the relational security guard who spoke to CBC News, the changes can't come fast enough.
Global News
22-07-2025
- Health
- Global News
‘Substantial exposure' to fentanyl smoke in B.C. supportive housing, report finds
The presence of second-hand fentanyl smoke is so severe at some British Columbia supportive housing facilities that workers cannot escape 'substantial exposure,' even if they stay in their offices and don't venture into hallways or tenants' rooms. That is among the findings of tests conducted at 14 British Columbia supportive housing facilities, results that contributed to the province's decision to form a working group aimed at tackling safety issues — including second-hand fentanyl exposure. The assessments, conducted by Sauve Safety Services for BC Housing, tested facilities in Vancouver and Victoria and found elevated levels of airborne fentanyl even in the main offices of all three buildings tested in Vancouver. 0:50 B.C. launches working group to improve supportive housing safety In a statement, the B.C. Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs said it takes the concerns about possible worker exposure to airborne fentanyl seriously. Story continues below advertisement 'We'll be working with our partners to ensure providers can take fast action to protect staff and tenants in supportive housing,' the statement said. 'The immediate need is to mitigate the known risks based on the exposure assessment and air quality testing that has been done.' In June, the province announced the formation of a working group to tackle safety in supportive housing, including second-hand exposure to fentanyl. The announcement of the group came after a number of recent incidents in the housing units, including a June 11 fire at the former Howard Johnson hotel in Vancouver that injured two people. The ministry said at the time that testing on the 14 facilities in Vancouver and Victoria showed some may be 'more likely to have elevated levels of airborne fentanyl, above the limit WorkSafeBC has established.' Details can be found in more than 600 pages of assessments conducted by Sauve. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy It recommended that all three Vancouver facilities improve ventilation to the main office, as well as mandating workers to wear respiratory protection in some cases and strengthening smoking policy enforcement for tenants. In its assessment of the Osborn facility on West Hastings Street, testers found occupational fentanyl exposures over a 12-hour shift that 'grossly exceeded applicable regulatory limits,' including WorkSafeBC's limits. Story continues below advertisement 5:09 B.C. Housing Minister on moving SROs from Granville Street 'This trend held true across all sampled work activities, including time spent in the main office, working in the kitchen, cleaning shelter areas, and performing general duties on the shelter floor,' the report said. 'At the time of assessment, none of the mental health workers were observed wearing respiratory protection.' Airborne fentanyl levels at the other facilities in Vancouver — Al Mitchell Place on Alexander Street and Hotel Maple on East Hastings — also exceeded exposure limits in office space. The assessments also found higher concentrations in the air of fluorofentanyl, a 'structurally modified' version of fentanyl that can be twice as potent as the original opioid, at all three Vancouver facilities. 'Although fentanyl levels on the second floor approached the eight-hour time-weighted average, fluorofentanyl concentrations were approximately five times higher, indicating a substantial and concerning exposure risk,' the assessment for Al Mitchell Place said. Story continues below advertisement In the 11 tested Victoria facilities, some main offices were found to offer 'protective environments' or had fentanyl levels below regulatory limits, while others exceeded them and created 'significant health risks' for staff. Dr. Ryan Marino, a medical toxicologist with University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, is an expert on addiction medicine and the medical toxicology of opioids such as fentanyl. He said that while he had not seen the specifics of the assessments, the main risk from fentanyl smoke is 'breakdown products' that result when the substance is burned, which can be directly noxious or toxic to a person's airway surfaces. 'It's actually very similar to smog pollution and can give people pretty significant irritation, coughing,' Marino said. '(It) could exacerbate asthma symptoms, that kind of thing. And so that is a very real concern, I would say.' 2:05 Nanaimo temporary housing unit program expands However, he cautioned against overreacting to the threat of absorbing fentanyl or fluorofentanyl through the air, since the opioid does not suspend in an airborne fashion and any particles in the air must be carried through wind or physical motion. Story continues below advertisement 'It would take a lot of physical powder to be in the air for someone to inhale a significant amount,' Marino said. 'For someone who's not using drugs, not ingesting anything in any way, the risk of a second-hand exposure, toxicity, overdose, whatever you want to call it, from fentanyl is pretty close to zero.' University of B.C. adjunct Prof. Mark Haden agreed, adding that he believes the problem of tenants smoking fentanyl in supportive housing is a direct symptom of drug prohibition — a more fundamental issue that should be tackled. 'This is a completely predictable outcome of a social policy that we need to fix,' said Haden, who referred to fentanyl in a health care setting as a medicine. 'We wouldn't have people using fentanyl in their rooms if they could go downstairs to some health facility and talk to a health care worker or a nurse who provided these kind of medicines within the context of a health service.' He called supervised consumption sites a big step in addressing the issue, but not enough. 'Supervised injection sites don't provide the medicine,' Haden said. 'They provide a space for people to inject illegal drugs. So, what we need to do is to provide the medicines that people take in the context of health facilities.' Story continues below advertisement The province has said it is working with the BC Centre for Disease Control, WorkSafeBC and BC Housing to develop new exposure reduction guidance at supportive housing facilities, and the focus is on protecting the workers and tenants in these buildings. 'We expect to have more information from WorkSafeBC and the BCCDC about actions we can take to continue to keep people safe,' the statement said.
CBC
16-07-2025
- CBC
Surveyor working east of Mission, B.C., hit and killed by dump truck
Police say a 48-year-old Abbotsford, B.C., man has been killed after being hit by a "fully loaded" dump truck while doing surveying work east of Mission. The man was working in the community of Hatzic on Tuesday when the dump truck struck him and he died at the scene, Mission RCMP said in a news release. Police said the driver of the truck "stopped immediately" and remained at the site. Sylvester Road was closed as collision analysts and WorkSafeBC investigated, according to police. RCMP said there were traffic control workers and advisory signs set up on the road where the man was working, and while the cause of the crash remains unknown, there was no evidence the driver was impaired. Police are now investigating the incident. Cpl. Harrison Mohr said the crash was "a tragic outcome" for the man on what was supposed to be an ordinary day at work. He said the crash is a reminder that roadside work is dangerous. "If you are driving through a construction zone, or driving past a tow truck or emergency vehicle, please, slow down and move over," Mohr said in the news release.
CTV News
12-07-2025
- CTV News
Union pleads for action four years after B.C. crane collapse that killed five people
A section of the vertical column of a construction crane is lowered past the mangled section of the fallen boom in Kelowna, B.C., Wednesday, July 14, 2021, following a fatal collapse of the crane on Monday. (Desmond Murray / The Canadian Press) BURNABY — Officials from a B.C. construction union say it's been four years since a crane collapse killed five people in Kelowna, and their families and the industry are still waiting for answers from WorkSafeBC about what happened, and from prosecutors about possible criminal charges. The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115, which represents hundreds of crane operators in the province, says it's calling on the BC Prosecution Service to move forward with a criminal trial to 'deliver justice to the victims' families.' The union says there's been four more crane collapses since the tragedy in Kelowna on July 12, 2021, that killed Cailen Vilness, Jared Zook, brothers Patrick and Eric Stemmer and Brad Zawislak, who was killed when the crane fell on the building next door. Josh Towsley, the union local's assistant business manager, says Kelowna RCMP's investigation recommended that prosecutors lay a charge of criminal negligence causing death more than a year ago, and WorkSafeBC has also probed the crane collapse but has not released its investigation report. Towsley says the WorkSafeBC report has 'remained hidden from the public and industry,' hampering the union and the industry's ability to understand what happened and how to protect 'members and the public from future tragedies.' The BC Prosecution Service says in a statement that it has received the RCMP's report but 'the police investigation and charge assessment process is ongoing,' and it doesn't have a timeline for completion. Towsley said in an interview Friday that the delays in laying criminal charges and releasing the WorkSafeBC report are cause for concern. 'My fear is twofold,' he said. 'My fear is that industry hasn't made the changes necessary to prevent this type of accident from ever happening again because we haven't been able to evaluate the report from WorkSafe. And secondarily, my fear is that the families will never receive the justice that I believe they're entitled to.' WorkSafeBC said in a statement that it recognizes 'the lasting impact of this tragedy on families, friends, co-workers, and the wider community, and we understand the ongoing desire for answers and information.' It said its investigation report will not be released while prosecutors mull charges, and though the report hasn't been made public, WorkSafeBC says it 'has incorporated all key learnings from the investigation into its crane safety initiatives, including for tower crane operation, assembly, disassembly, and repositioning.' This report by Darryl Greer of The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2025.
CTV News
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
B.C. safety regulator says workers disabled ammonia detectors for monster truck rally
The Weekend Warrior monster truck at a Motorsport Spectacular event at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg. (Jamie Dowsett/CTV News Winnipeg) Municipal workers in Cranbrook, B.C., were instructed to disable ammonia detection alarms inside a city arena during a monster truck rally earlier this year – constituting just one of several serious safety infractions that occurred over the course of the two-day event, according to the provincial workplace regulator. WorkSafeBC has fined the municipality $175,783.78 for multiple 'high-risk violations' of the province's workplace health and safety standards in the wake of the February motocross event at the city-owned Western Financial Place arena. The City of Cranbrook says it 'takes these allegations seriously' but is appealing the penalty. Carbon monoxide exposure A WorkSafeBC inspection report, prepared in the weeks following the event, said 10 city workers were on shift for each of the three motorsports shows held over two days, with more staff involved in the event's setup and teardown. During the shows, which featured monster trucks and dirt bikes performing stunts before thousands of spectators, carbon monoxide levels inside the arena reached double the acceptable short-term exposure limit, and eight times the acceptable long-term limit, according to the report, though it is not known how long those elevated levels were sustained. The arena's ventilation system had been adapted to try to prevent a buildup of vehicle exhaust fumes, however the system failed and was shut down due to cold weather during the first event, the inspector determined. As a result, gas detection systems inside the area showed elevated levels of not only carbon monoxide, but carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, as well, the report said. 'Silencing the alarm' A health and safety representative from the city told the WorkSafeBC inspector the city was aware that a plan to control exposure to carbon monoxide was required, 'however one was not developed prior to the event,' according to the agency. When the arena's ammonia detection system, designed to alert staff to any leaks of the potentially deadly gas, was triggered by the exhaust fumes, staff were reportedly told to deactivate the alarms. 'Upper management told workers to contact the manufacturer of the ammonia detection system to assist in silencing the alarm,' the inspection report said. 'The workers were instructed by the manufacturer on how to place the system into 'test mode,' which temporarily disables the alarm system.' The report goes on to state that 'workers were potentially exposed to ammonia' as a result of this action. 'Ammonia is a toxic and potentially lethal gas that poses serious health risks, including respiratory issues, irritation to the eyes and throat, and, in high concentrations, can lead to severe lung damage or even death,' the inspection report said. 'Fully aware of the risk' A 2018 ammonia leak at an arena in the nearby community of Fernie killed three men after an alarm was silenced while they performed work on the facility's cooling system. The WorkSafeBC report said arena employees 'were upset with how management responded to their health concerns' during a meeting following the event. One employee, who spoke with CTV News on the condition they not be named, said the memory of the fatal Fernie ammonia leak was still top of mind. The City of Cranbrook did not respond to questions about the safety report Friday. 'This employer has the resources, expertise, and obligation to anticipate risks and put preventative measures in place,' the WorkSafeBC report said. 'The employer should have been fully aware of the risk posed by engine exhaust emissions during an indoor motocross event.' Dirt may have been contaminated The provincial workplace safety agency also determined that the dirt used for the motorsports track in the arena was taken from the grounds of a wastewater treatment plant without first being tested for contamination from harmful substances. In a statement Saturday, the city contended the dirt was clean fill taken from a local road construction project and temporarily stored at the wastewater treatment facility. The WorkSafeBC report found the dirt was stored at the wastewater plant for 12 months prior to the event, and 'may have been contaminated with harmful bacteria, fungi, or chemicals that could pose risks if inhaled or contacted by workers' as a result. 'The equipment used during the event would have stirred up dust from the track to generate airborne particles, leading to exposure to biological agents and chemical hazards,' the report said. 'Exposure to dirt that has been stored at a wastewater treatment plant and may be contaminated poses significant risks to health. The soil could also be contaminated with hazardous pathogens, chemicals, or heavy metals, which can lead to serious illnesses, infections, or long-term health problems,' the report continued. 'Workers were required to truck large quantities of this dirt into the arena and spread it out into the desired track using mobile equipment. Workers were not required to wear specialized PPE (personal protective equipment). Many workers came into direct contact with the dirt and were at a very high risk of inhaling the dust.' Fine calculated by payroll The Motorsport Spectacular event was held over two days on Feb. 14 and Feb. 15, featuring monster trucks, mini monster trucks and freestyle motocross, according to a city announcement promoting the event. Tickets for the event were sold directly through the city's website and at the box office for Western Financial Place, which is owned and operated by the municipality. The WorkSafeBC fine of $175,783.78 was calculated at approximately one per cent of the city's annual payroll, according to the safety regulator.
