Care aides in British Columbia are being subjected to concerning workplace stresses at high rates, according to a new poll.
Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU) released the information from a phone survey that was conducted. A total of 807 care aides, also called health-care assistants, were surveyed between Sept. 18 and 29. The union represents more than 60,000 health-care workers in B.C., with 28,000 of them working directly with seniors in long-term care and other care settings.
A spokesperson for the union says the survey "paints an alarming picture of the pressures facing those on the front lines today."
Alarmingly, more than half of the people said they don’t have time to meet residents’ care needs and 82 per cent report having been victims of violence or aggression.
Meena Brisard, a manager at HEU, says care aides and community health workers are working short-staffed and struggling to deliver quality care.
“This poll underscores what we have known for years — many of our care home residents do not receive the attention they need and that our members want to provide,” said Brisard. “The situation also takes a huge toll on care staff.”
Additionally, she says while workers are rushed off their feet trying to meet residents’ needs, they put their own health at risk.
"The experiences of care aides working through the COVID-19 pandemic have made this situation even worse,” she says.
Of the people surveyed, 48.5 per cent said their work experience over the last three years has made it likely they will leave their job within the next two years.
The poll also found that 45 per cent reported having been off work from an injury in the workplace; meanwhile, 82 per cent have been struck, scratched, spit on or had other violent acts from a care home resident.
Survey results show 68 per cent say their residents, patients or clients are rushed through basic care routines.
Brisard would like to see the provincial government step in.
“As B.C.’s seniors’ advocate, legislative committees and others have pointed out, there is a lack of accountability for public funding that is intended for front-line care,” said Brisard.
The union has been pushing the government to restore the standard wages, benefits and working conditions.
