Nurses in B.C. granted access to post-traumatic stress disorder treatment

Nurses in British Columbia will now have access to treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

First responders, sheriffs and correctional officers have been able to get assistance for PTSD without providing proof that it’s related to their work, and now nurses can do the same.

BC Nurses union president Christine Sorensen says the nature of their jobs can result in suffering physically and psychologically from violence or stress.

“We have a lot of trauma that we see,” Sorensen said. “If you’re working in ICU, Children’s Hospital, a lot of those are often very traumatic events.”

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Sorensen says in 2016, the most recent year for data, 76 nurses registered claims for PTSD with WorkSafeBC.

She says this is a “really big day for all nurses in BC.”

It means nurses will now have better access to services and compensation to treat mental health injuries.