médecin de famille

infirmier

family medicine physician

infirmier auxiliaire autorisé

ergothérapeute

Northern Health

I am a former Home Support worker at Highland Health. 
I recently (this year) resigned from this position. It's a pity I had to do this because the job itself is great. 99% of my colleagues in the job that I worked with on a daily basis were fantastic. Easy to get along with, helpful and just generally great people. 
The job itself is fairly flexible, you can pick and choose your own hours if that's what you need, or you can take a regular position with fixed hours. The day goes fast because you are constantly on the go. Most of the clients are extremely nice and very grateful for our services. 
That's all great but the 1% I don't like, makes the job impossible long term. 
In the morning you need to go get your schedule, it's a quick task but unfortunately the atmosphere in the office is toxic. A couple of the team leads are hostile and make simple requests a nightmare. They make the staff feel like they don't matter and they make issues when there are none. Things get blown out of proportion all the time. A good manager should be approachable and supportive. Most of them are but a few are not, and they bully staff members. 
 
They have a high turnover of management and program leads also. Seems like several times a year we would be reporting to somebody different, why is that they can't seem to hold on to managers? 
And it's not just managers and team leads, far from it. Care workers staff turnover is through the roof. They can't seem to hold on to their staff. 
At what point do NH start to investigate the reasons behind why staff leave such an enjoyable job (for the most part)?
The reason is simple, there is a bullying culture in Highland Health Home Support. 
If you have a medical condition, like I do they offer you zero additional support that you might require to do the job properly. 
If there is an issue with clients they also offer zero assistance and support. 
I could go on all day about other reasons that make this job an absolute nightmare but I havent got all the time needed. 
Anyway, if any care workers are reading this and wondering if they should apply for employment here I would say avoid at all costs. It's not worth the hassle and you will be paid more to work in a facility or in the hospital. 
Any of the higher ups at NH if you are reading this I implore you to contact me and we can discuss some of these issues further. If the issues continue it will continue to cost NH a fortune to orientate all the new staff who will just end up resigning a short while later. 


No support from management there is never leadership when you need it. There is a huge turnaround with managers. Everyone eventually gets physically, hurt or exhausted, people go on stress leave. A continuous understaffed situation.  
Working with bullies is never fun. 
Absolutely understaffed, I’ve never worked a shift with full staff.
Terrible working environment. You are on your own to make decisions on your feet because there is no one available to ask. You are constantly asked to work overtime because of the lack of staff. There is no sense of pride in working here because it’s impossible to do a good job. There is no sense of  enjoyment as the staff are rude and short with other staff.  
Overworked underpaid
No team work, everyone passes the buck, no one gives any guidance, there is a huge staff turn around all the time. I trained people when I wasn’t properly trained myself. Always going way above scope of practice not because you want to but there is an underlying understanding not to bother finding answers just figure it out because if you do ask questions you are treated like you are a nuisance. You are never praised or thanked for a job well done but are quick to be ridiculed for things that are out of your hands. 
I have never worked in such a cesspool of angry, tired, spiteful workers in my life as I did in northern health. I feel sorry for the families who have no choice but to rely on our failed health care system. I would not wish this lack of care on anyone. It’s stressful knowing you gave it your all at work and it wasn’t enough. I would never suggest to anyone to work here after the way I’ve seen workers and patients get treated. 

As with many NH facilities this is run through a top down approach that is divisive and paternalistic. Sometimes culturally insensitive, NH branded site manager has modelled and created a culture that puts health centres and departments at odds despite a close knit community and interdependence. Many staff yearn to connect and work together. Conflict, competition, and negative behaviours are left unresolved. 

Personnel are hard working, regularly work OT, and when ill to get their job done and more since our staff pool is limited. Staff are expected to wear various hats to keep this place running well. It would be great if all department positions were filled and we could hang on to highly skilled staff long enough to create culture shifts and positive change. 

Missing breaks are a regular occurrence. We regularly work short and without regular managerial support, with a revolving door of managers none lasting longer than a year. No pharm tech, unit clerk, regular RCAs/LPNS, stock personnel. No investment is being made to recruit or retain any staff. NH thinks it’s appropriate to have New Grads run a rural, remote hospital and provide minimal ER training and educational opportunity. No wonder there is high turn over, positions vacant, and constant burnout.

So disorganized. Their motto is that they are "flying the plane as they build it".
Management is non-existent, I have no idea what they do, other than sit in their offices and stir up trouble amongst their employees. 
There was no consistency at my site which was brought up several times with no support from management.
Training is non-existent, my supervisor shoved me in a room for a week and said "read this". Never really came to check on me or go over the part of orientation that she was to do verbally.
I was hired for one position but was told after being hired that I was going to be doing another job. 
It was not disclosed to me that people in my office were being asked to do things that are beyond their scope of practice and often unethical. 
We were often told that we are not counsellors or therapists but were asked to use therapeutic techniques in our roles (CBT). We were not provided with proper training for CBT, Northern Health has you complete a learning module (~1 hour) on it, in reality if you take the course, it is offered over 2-3 days. When asked about proper training, I was told that we would not be provided with it but were still expected to use it. 
My supervisor found it appropriate the belittle, berate me and yell at me, which is why I will be leaving shortly. 
I would avoid Northern Health at all costs.

Work as a care aide at a complex care facility is very rewarding but the work environment is often toxic, understaffed,  unsupported, rushed, time crunched, harried and gives the feeling of not giving enough time to each resident's care.
We are asked to give our best but are not compensated equally. The work can be hard, injury prone and even dangerous. We are promised protection from harm but it is not followed through with any sort of action. With not enough staff at all times, there is often the possibility to get distressed or hurt by a resident and no back-up through extra staff.
We want to provide the best care but can only do so much in the time slot that can be allotted to each person.
Many of us feel stressed and helpless and want to feel appreciated by the management.  The budget always seems to overrule the needs of all.

The hours are whatever you want them to be as the job is super casual. I have worked shifts that are two hours and I have worked ones that are eight hours and more. The position mainly requires you to be on the road a lot as you drive from retailer to retailer. The main points of being an MTS (Minor Test Shopper) are to try and acquire vape and or tobacco products and ensure that all proper signage is in order. When doing day or over-night trips all meals and hotels are paid for up to a certain dollar amount. The staff and supervisors are all really nice and friendly and the job is fun however, the occasional time you will either get yelled at, lectured or just simply ignored... etc. The only problem of this job is once you turn eighteen you are no longer allowed to work for the program as you come to closer to the legal age and blur the lines of the laws concerning entrapment.

I got hired on the spot to work here. Totally new environment in which I thought to give a try. I believed for a health industry, that there would be more job security and accommodation of workers needs. I had been unfairly dismissed after the position I attempted to try for did not work out. Even after paying into being employed and being responsive it did not matter to be leaving me in a tight position with out work as I had left my previous employer to work for northernhealth. I was hardly given a response and basically ignored, and forgotten. Northern health is quick to moving on and kicking you to the curb. There is no stability within this industry and unless your qualified as advancement is difficult. My point is, management doesn't have your back and you're thrown into a zoo, northern health is another breed of people to work around. It is up to you with how much you can tolerate as the level of negavity is high.

I am happy with my employment with Northern Health. As a social worker within the hospital, you are never without a new circumstance to learn and help with. the role is very fast paced and you have the ability to interact with numerous health care professionals. from doctors to nurses to OT to PT to other social workers. The list goes on. I have made many good friends from this job. It really is like a family.

Some of the cons include random drama that can sneak into certain floors or departments, some more than others.  Sometimes you come up against some doctors that believe they are the end all, be all. if you stick up for yourself and your patients, you will succeed. This job needs someone who is more assertive in their abilities.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The job was in the community I lived in at the time

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The perception I had that managers in the organization knew very little about mental health.  There did not appear to be much in the way of training in mental health  areas.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
My team lead did not know what the DSM 5 was. I perceived considerable lateral violence there and there was no flexibility in terms of coffee breaks and lunch

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Long and busy. I was expected to see as many clients as possible, take my breaks and lunch at specific times

Northern Health covers the largest area in BC between all 5 health authorities. It consists of one major city (Northern capital of BC) and the rest are either remote or rural areas. Great place to build skills and confidence because resources are limited and, therefore, nurses are required to play multiple roles. For example, the place where I work, we do not have a dietitian nor a physiotherapist. Therefore, RNs are trained and educated in fulfilling these roles until a dietician/speech-and-language pathologist comes from another town, after a referral is sent. Small towns allow nurses to build skills and confidence.

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