HSABC President says summit on violence "a good start"

 "I thank Minister Lake for taking up my call to action and inviting a wide range of health care workers, management and specialists to exchange frank ideas about the scope of the problem, and pathways to prevention." — Val Avery, HSABC President

Vancouver (10 April 2015) — Val Avery, President of Health Sciences Association of B.C. (HSABC/NUPGE) said she is pleased to have attended the B.C. government summit on violence in the health care system. The summit, hosted by Health Minister Terry Lake in response to Avery's recent call for action, included representatives from other health care unions, health authorities, occupational health and safety experts and other industry stakeholders.

Violence against health care workers is a growing concern

"Violence has affected health care workers and their patients for years," said Avery. "We made a good start towards working in a coordinated way to improve how we prevent violence in health care settings. I thank Minister Lake for taking up my call to action and inviting a wide range of health care workers, management and specialists to exchange frank ideas about the scope of the problem, and pathways to prevention."

"Solving this problem will take more than a one-day meeting, and I look forward to working with all our partners in health care to make meaningful progress in the months to come. Our members, and their patients, deserve to feel safe in the place they come to heal, and be healed. Let's get to work, and make that happen."

More information:

Read HSABC's December 11 call to action
Read more about the government's response to HSABC's call to action
Read  news release from B.C.'s Ministry of Health

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE