B.C. to add 300 protection staff to healthcare sector amid rise in workplace violence

There were 4,438 reported incidents of violence in the B.C. healthcare sector in the past year. In response, the province will train 320 in-house protection service officers and 14 violence prevention leads to address increasing levels of workplace violence healthcare workers face. The staff will be deployed to 26 hospital and mental health facilities. The workers will be prioritized to ED and mental health units and will be trained in anticipation, de-escalation and violence prevention. They’ll function separately from existing security personnel and will be visible within facilities and recognizable by uniform. The BCNU said workplace violence experienced by its members is exacerbated by understaffing and is under-reported and understudied.
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La sécurité sera améliorée dans 26 hôpitaux et centres de santé de la C.-B. - Radio-Canada