Workplace safety
The Workers’ Compensation Board reported in May 2000 that the most dangerous workplaces in B.C. are in health care.
In the five-year period ending 1998:
- 1.5 million workdays were lost and claims costs exceeded $155 million
- overexertion due to handling of patients and materials account for the majority of claims and costs
- acts of violence and force account for seven per cent of all claims (compared to two per cent for all industries combined) — the highest rate for B.C. workers
- nurse aides, Licensed Practical Nurses and care aides are the most often injured in health care.