Horizon Working To Improve Employee Safety

The Horizon Health Network says it is working on several initiatives to make its health care facilities safer.

Maura McKinnon, chief human resource officer, gave a presentation during Thursday’s quarterly board meeting in Saint John.

McKinnon said staff reported 577 workplace violence incidents between April 2018 and March 2019, including 457 physical assaults.

That is down from 607 reported incidents in 2017-18 but up from 416 incidents in 2016-17.

“In a perfect world, there would be no incidents, but we know that that’s not a reality at this point in time,” said McKinnon.

McKinnon said the health authority wants to ensure workers have what they need to anticipate potential violent incidents and can respond in a safe and effective way.

She said a Workplace Violence Prevention Implementation Committee is focusing on several areas, including the different types of training required for staff.

“Whether that is non-violent crisis intervention training, basic violence awareness training for all employees, code white training provided for those teams who respond to code whites,” McKinnon said.

Committee members are also focused on risk hazard assessments to determine trends within the organization, she said.

They are also working to standardize mechanical restraints across the health authority and provide appropriate training.

McKinnon said her strongest message to employees is to report any incidents which occur.

“When things don’t get reported, we are then not able to action it,” she said, adding they need to understand what the trends are and provide the proper tools, support and resources.