VICTORIA — B.C. Auditor General Wayne Strelioff is recommending that health authorities throughout the province devote more attention to the health of their own employees.

Strelioff today released his report on his office’s review of the health of the workplace in the B.C. health care sector. The report is entitled: In Sickness and in Health: Healthy Workplaces for British Columbia’s Healthcare Workers.

Strelioff said his office undertook the study because a healthy work force and a healthy workplace are integral ingredients in providing top-quality patient care. As well, he said, the health of the workplace is a key part of maintaining a cost-efficient system. Based on a study of data from the year 2000, experts estimate as much as $1 billion is spent annually in B.C.’s health care system on the direct and indirect cost of employee injuries, illnesses, absenteeism and lost productivity caused by ill health.

The auditor general said three main factors contribute to the health of a workplace:

- The physical safety of the workers, involving such issues as prevention of injury and protection from violence;

- the psychological and social environment of the workplace, with an emphasis on the need for respectful working relationships;

- The promotion of a healthy lifestyle, involving such issues as the nutrition easily available to workers, and recognition of the need for a life-work balance.

The audit found that senior management of the province’s health authorities need to provide greater leadership and pay much more attention to issues of workplace health.

Some building blocks have been put in place, Strelioff said, especially in the area of injury prevention. The effects of those efforts can be seen in a decreasing rate of musculoskeletal injuries.

However, he noted, those efforts are offset by an increase in long-term disability claims of the number of workers off the job because of mental or emotional distress.

Strelioff recommends that health authorities need to target funds and programs specifically at improving workplace health. As well, he says, the authorities need to set up better systems for gathering data on the health of their workplaces and employees.

Strelioff concluded that a healthier workplace contributes to the long-term sustainability of the health care system. "It’s important that young people will choose to enter the health care system to replace the aging workforce, many of whom are nearing retirement age," he said. "They’ll only want to do that if they see the health care environment as a strong and healthy workplace."

2004/05 Report #2 – In Sickness and in Health: Healthy Workplaces for British Columbia’s Health Care Workers.

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