The Prince Edward Island Union of Public Sector Employees (UPSE) is raising serious concerns about its members experiencing violence in the workplace. Health PEI is admitting patients with complex mental health needs into long-term care homes. These facilities are not designed or staffed to safely care for people who need specialized psychiatric treatment. This puts staff in a difficult and unsafe position. Long-term care staff are not provided with adequate training, nor do they have the support needed to manage patients with complex psychiatric needs. It also puts other residents at risk and fails to meet the needs or dignity of the patients placed there.
UPSE President Karen Jackson says the problem has been ongoing for years. “Members have reported violence and safety concerns repeatedly, but very little has changed. One member told us they sat in their car crying, unsure if they could even face another shift because of the violence.”
Violence in long-term care is becoming too common. Research shows workplace violence in healthcare is a growing issue and is often linked to ineffective leadership, understaffing, lack of resources, and inappropriate patient placement. UPSE conducted a workplace violence survey in 2023 and shared the results with Health PEI and the government, but members are still seeing little improvement. “There is a growing sense that violence is being treated as just part of the job, and that is not acceptable,” said Jackson. “Workers and residents deserve to feel safe every day.”
Families are facing long wait times, and residents are being placed in temporary spaces like activity rooms and adult day program areas. Long-term care homes, and the staffing levels within them, were never designed to handle this number of residents. When people with complex or inappropriate care needs are admitted into facilities that aren’t equipped to support them, it puts added strain on staff and increases the risk to everyone. This not only makes working conditions more difficult but also compromises the safety and quality of care for residents.
The provincial government’s recent $100 million commitment to add new beds in the private long-term care sector will not come soon enough to alleviate the current crisis. UPSE warned governments for years that more long-term care beds and better planning were needed as the population ages. Those warnings were ignored, and the system is now stretched beyond capacity. UPSE believes that investing in public care is the best way to build a stronger and safer long-term care system. Change is urgently needed. Workers, residents, and families deserve better.