Union Affiliates and Labour Council Leadership, please forward to your Health and Safety Activists.

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The Health Sciences Association of BC (HSA) today released a report by an environmental health expert that recommends a high standard of personal protective equipment use by health care workers to minimize the spread of the deadly H1N1 virus.

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 addition, there is currently no vaccine to protect against this virus, although recent reports indicate that one should be available by October.

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 webmaster@ohsah.bc.ca
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 employees of Mission Memorial Hospital to assess a broader range of possible exposures. HSA encourages you to participate.  

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

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 injuries have continued to increase.

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.

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 eligible to complete our survey and be entered in a draw to win an iPod.

Why is violence in healthcare a concern?