B.C. health-care workers struggle with mental health, many thinking of calling it quits

More and more British Columbians who work in hospitals and health care don’t think they’ll last another two years, according to a poll from one of the sector’s largest unions.

A third of Hospital Employees Union (HEU) members who work in facilities — which includes everything from some nurses, to medical technicians, accountants, and food service workers — surveyed said they were either somewhat likely or very likely to quit by 2024.

The union says that compares to 22 per cent of all its members who responded to a similar survey in June.

Meena Brisard with the HEU says 26 per cent also worry their housing is at risk, and 37 of the respondents didn’t have stable housing.

“Nearly two-thirds of our members that were surveyed say their workloads have gotten worse over the last two years, and a quarter of them report that their employers rarely or never backfilled positions left vacant because of illness or vacations,” she said.

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The results of this survey aligns with those of another poll for the Canadian Medical Association in which two thirds said the pandemic has affected their mental health.

Association President Dr. Katharine Smart is joining calls to move away from the pay-per-patient model used in the majority of family practice settings, although some provinces have introduced alternative models in recent years.

For her part, Brisard says with a shortage of workers and existing employees feeling burnt out, patient care is suffering.

“The workplace issues combined with the stress of the pandemic is leaving workers in a desperate situation and our health care system can’t afford to lose one more health-care worker,” she said, adding 32.9 per cent of facility employees feel there aren’t enough mental health supports in the workplace.

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She says better wages is the way forward, not only to help current workers and retain them, but also to encourage others to consider a job in health care.

“We should all be very concerned about what this poll really means for our health-care system, as we move forwards. This poll paints an alarming picture of the pressures facing those on the frontlines today and of our ability to retain health-care workers into the future.”

The poll was conducted by Viewpoints Research, commissioned by the HEU. The questions were created as a collaboration between the two organizations.

The union says 802 random health-care workers were surveyed by phone and the results are accurate to within +/- 3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

With files from Martin MacMahon and Claire Fenton