CKHA officials meet to discuss role of board of directors.  January 18, 2017.  (Photo by Paul Pedro)CKHA officials meet to discuss role of board of directors. January 18, 2017. (Photo by Paul Pedro)
Chatham

Strides Made To Improve Hospital Work Environment In CK

Work continues to make the hospital work environment in Chatham-Kent safer and more pleasant.

Rob Devitt is the supervisor at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance and he tells Blackburn News progress is being made to keep staff and doctors safe after a provincial investigator discovered a culture of fear, intimidation and distrust.

Devitt says violence in the workplace is a real issue in healthcare that people rarely talk about.

"Nurses are more likely to be injured on the job as a result of violence than police officers," he says.

Devitt adds work continues towards a positive future.

"We fundamentally believe that as an employer we have to make the workplace safe."

Devitt says participation rates of a recent staff survey exceed the national average with 61% of staff and 41% of doctors completing the survey.

"We will every three to four months do follow-up surveys so we can actually measure that staff are feeling better about the place they work."

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