Pandemic tensions and hospital staffing shortages have fuelled high rates of violence against Ontario’s hospital workforce, according to a poll by Oracle Research on behalf of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). .“The sobering reality is that hospitals are increasingly toxic and dangerous workplaces where women are beaten, sexually assaulted, and racially attacked by the hundreds, every single day,” said Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, CUPE (OCHU-CUPE) secretary-treasurer, Sharon Richer, in a Tuesday press release. .The poll found 63% of respondents experienced physical violence. It said 53% of hospital workers believed there was an increase in violence targeting them or a co-worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. .CUPE said the race-based and sexual assault poll numbers are startling. .The poll said 71% of racialized workers report they are subjected to harassment or abuse because of their race or appearance. According to the poll, 49% of hospital employees experienced sexual harassment and 36% have witnessed sexual assault. .It said 18% of respondents have observed an increase in guns and knives being used against staff. .Ontario has 247,000 health care workers. If the poll findings were extrapolated to the entire workforce, about 155,610 hospital staff would have been physically assaulted at work and 61,379 of those incidents would have been based on race. .“Skeleton staffing is normal, and staff are working alone in circumstances where they are very vulnerable to assault,” said OCHU-CUPE first vice president, Dave Verch. .“Under the heavy workloads, low staffing, and violence risks, many RPNs, PSWS, porters, cleaners, clerical hospital staff are sadly making the choice to leave their hospital jobs.” .CUPE’s recommendations to eliminate violence against these staff include a zero-tolerance policy and more provincial funding to boost staffing to ensure no one works alone. .“There is a level of violence going on that the premier, health minister, and the hospitals can no longer ignore,” said Richer. .“They must act to stop this.”.Some British Columbia hospitals were forced to close emergency rooms for a few days in May as the province’s healthcare system grappled with staffing shortages..Residents of a Vancouver Island community had no access to their hospital’s emergency department for 12 hours..Island Health advised the community on its website that Port McNeill Hospital’s emergency department was closed directly as a result of the low number of staff. .The poll was conducted with 2,300 Ontario registered nurses, personal support workers, porters, cleaners, and other frontline hospital staff between May 17 and 24. No margin of error was provided.
