What you told us – Final report from the 2020 Health Authority Engagement Survey

The summary report for the fifth annual Health Authority Engagement Survey that took place in the Fall of 2020, is now ready. This survey measures BC physicians’ engagement levels with their respective health authority, and the feedback that you provide helps us to support important collaborative initiatives in British Columbia’s healthcare system. Further results of the survey are available on our dedicated web page, which also contains results from previous years.

A record number of members took part in the 2020 survey – 3,200 doctors completed it, denoting a 28% response rate. As well, all health authority scores improved across the nine core questions from 2018 – 2020. 

Some highlights from the 2020 Summary Report:

• At a provincial level, survey respondents have reported meaningful improvements in areas of engagement and overall satisfaction. The provincial average score for feeling of satisfied in the workplace has jumped to 64% from 46%.

• Family physicians, specialists, community-based, and facility-based physicians expressed similar opinions across the core questions compared to previous years’ surveys.

• Levels of communication and engagement between physicians and their health authorities have improved, even in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Many physicians commented on how collaboration under pressure overruled previous communicative and administrative barriers. 

• The addition of the open-ended section for 2020’s survey has highlighted challenging areas, as well as areas where there are opportunities for significant positive change, many members discussed experiences in the workplace related to health and safety, and the need for more transparency, clearer communication, and accountability from leaders. 

While hurdles certainly remain, your feedback will be harnessed to help improve the workplace for all in BC’s healthcare system. 

Next steps:

Doctors of BC will be sharing results with members, staff across the organization, and health authorities. Doctors of BC staff will be presenting the results to groups across the province, including Medical Staff Associations and Divisions of Family Practice, in an effort to discuss trends, high-level feedback from the open-ended comments, and opportunities for improvement. Staff may also offer insight on Doctors of BC policies, programs, and new initiatives to help support specific topic areas. A supplemental Report will be released in the coming weeks with charts outlining breakdowns by practice type, location, hospital/facility, community, among other elements.