Bayview Heights Medical Clinic

The doctor who runs this clinic has incorporated it as a business to offer a full range of non-emergency diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive medical services to people in Bayview Heights. Bayview Heights is the biggest city in the province in which the clinic is incorporated. The doctor deliberately chose the city of Bayview Heights because of its size. Also, he wanted to help solve the problem many citizens have in finding a doctor who will take them on as a patient.

The population of Bayview Heights is ethnically and racially diverse, and is becoming more so every year. Controversy has arisen recently about racial profiling of Indigenous people by retail workers at the mall on the outskirts of Bayview Heights. A group of Indigenous citizens recently enlisted the help of local media outlets to draw attention to the unfair treatment they receive while shopping. Reaching out to local media followed closely on the heels of an independent investigation that found widespread racism, stereotyping, and discrimination against Indigenous people in the health care system in the province in which Bayview Heights Medical Clinic is located.

The doctor has hired a team of staff to help with the medical and non-medical work that is essential to the successful operation of the clinic. All of the medical support staff are women. While more and more men are becoming employed as medical support staff, women are still predominant in this type of job in Bayview Heights. Consistent with the prevailing pattern in the provincial labour market, about two-thirds of the doctor's support staff are members of a visible minority group.

The clinic is well designed to manage a high volume of patients. It has a welcoming reception area, four examination rooms, a staff room for breaks, a private office for the doctor, and a large file room to store patients' medical records. The workstations at the front of the clinic, where staff deal with patients before and after their appointments with the doctor, are well-equipped with computers. These computers are fully loaded with state-of-the-art software for scheduling appointments, communicating with patients, generating requisitions (e.g., blood work and x-rays), receiving patients' test results, and performing other routine but vital tasks associated with providing medical services to clinic patients.

The pace of the clinic is hectic and dealing with people who have serious or chronic health conditions can be stressful. Most staff are accustomed to working under these conditions, and there are few problems with absenteeism or inappropriate on-the-job behaviour. However, such workplace issues have been a problem in clinics the doctor has worked for in the past, and he is concerned they could become problems here if the volume of patients seeking medical care at Bayview Heights Medical Clinic increases, as he projects.

When the clinic has a full schedule of patient appointments, staff often do not have time during the regular workday to file medical records. Occasionally, the doctor asks whether anyone is willing to stay late or come in early to help catch up on filing.

While the primary mission of the clinic is to look after patient health, workplace health and safety are also concerns. The doctor is serious about ensuring that his staff are protected when taking blood, urine, and tissue samples to send to the lab for analysis, and otherwise being exposed to people who are sick and whose illnesses may be contagious.

Based on what you know about Bayview Heights Medical Clinic, what three types of workplaces policies do you think the doctor should prioritize first, and why? Your answer should refer to and briefly explain the relevant employment law or laws that support your recommendations.

1.Identify the top three policy options that you think your client should put in place.

2.Provide reasons to support your recommendations.

3.Outline the specific employment law(s) you are relying on to make your recommendations