everyone for being with us today. Good morning. I'm Adrian Dix, I'm BC's Minister of Health. I want to begin by acknowledging that we are on the territories of the Musqueam of the Squamish and the Slewa Tooth. We are honored to be here today on their lands. I'm here today with the President of the BC Nurses Union, the Secretary of Business Manager of the Hospital Employee Union, David Durning, the Occupational Health and Safety Association, and Victoria Schmidt, CEO of SwitchBC. Today we are here to discuss an important issue that affects all healthcare employees and all patients and families who are in, in particular, acute care hospitals. And that's workplace violence. Here's what we know. We know that healthcare employees experience more workplace violence than workers in other sectors. We know that most healthcare employees have experienced more than they have experienced before. The most healthcare employees have experienced or witnessed violence in their workplaces. And we know workplace violence significantly affects their physical and mental health, requiring healthcare employees to take time off work or worse, leave the healthcare field entirely. This is not a situation we can afford or justify. And certainly it's not one that we can endure. That is why we've made workplace safety one of our key actions in our health human resources plan. Making our healthcare facilities free of violence will ensure all healthcare employees have safe and healthy workplaces. And that the patients who count on them are accessing care in a safe environment. Making our healthcare facilities free of violence will not only help us recruit and retain healthcare workers, it will improve patient care and continuity. Making this commitment and delivering action on it is the right thing to do for patients and the talented, skilled and dedicated healthcare employees they depend on. And I want to express my appreciation in particular to the representatives of the Health Sciences Association, the hospital employees union, the BC nurses union who have been so much part of working with us for advocating for these models over the last number of years and for all their work on all the issues related to the occupational health and safety of healthcare workers. But making our healthcare facilities free of violence for employees and the patients who count on that requires a comprehensive and coordinated approach. We will be implementing an innovative security model called the relational security model in 26 healthcare settings across all health authorities. Hiring 320 in-house protection service officers and 14 violence prevention leads to ensure security personnel have an acute awareness of patients and their surroundings. Health authorities are prioritizing high-risk facilities for the program including emergency departments and mental health units. Through this new model, security personnel will be able to anticipate, de-escalate and ultimately prevent aggression and violence. To implement the relational security model, we are fully committed in working with healthcare employees across the board. This will be a significant addition and change and it will be extremely good news for everyone who visits our hospital and everyone who works in our hospitals and other healthcare facilities. In addition to those actions, we have recently provided $2 million to switch BC, a new organization dedicated to addressing healthcare workplace safety. This is in addition to the 8.5 million over three years announced in 2019 to establish switch, which stands for safety, well-being, innovation, training and collaboration in healthcare. Through this funding, switch BC is developing, implementing and supporting actions to promote workplace safety. Victoria Schmidt from switch BC will tell you more about those efforts in a few minutes. The relational security model we will be using is based on trauma-informed practice, which integrates knowledge of how people are affected by trauma into procedures, practices and services. All protection services personnel will be trained in workplace violence prevention, mental health and advanced customer service. They will also receive trauma-informed practice training that will help them to interact with patients, families, clients and colleagues safely and knowledgeably. Trauma-informed practice involves recognizing this link and making sure people feel safe and are not re-traumatized or triggered by their care. When people feel safe, they are far less likely to behave aggressively. Protection service personnel are on the front lines of our healthcare system, keeping patients, families and healthcare workers safe. By empowering protection service workers with the right training and knowledge, we are preparing them to respond to the most challenging situations and achieve the best possible outcomes for healthcare workers and for patients. Ensuring the consistency and training across the protection service officers will be the responsibility of switch BC, which is renewing and making sure people are safe and safe in their care. We are preparing them to respond to the violence prevention curriculum. The relational security initiative is just one part of the health human resources strategy announced September 29. This strategy puts people first by ensuring they get the health services they need and are cared for by a healthy workforce now and in the future. And with that, I am very pleased to welcome Oman Gurawal from the BC nurses union. Thank you, Minister Dix. Thank you, Minister Dix. As mentioned, my name is Oman Gurawal and I am the president of the BC nurses union. I would like to acknowledge that I am honored to be here on the unseated territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Swaila Tooth people. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight just how important today's announcement is for the nurses and also all allied health workers, care for their patients every day to care for their patients and deserve a safe work environment to provide care to their patients or clients. I have to take a moment to think of all the nurses in this province who have experienced violence at their workplace. Nurses are exposed to real violence in the workplace. Our members get punched, kicked, grabbed, spat on, as well as being verbally and sexually hurt. Our work is dangerous and we know that this danger is underreported and understudied across the healthcare system. We know that injury rates amongst nurses are on par with, if not, higher than rates reported by other first responder professionals. We also know that thousands of nurses in BC are watching at the same time. We also know that nurses in BC are watching as their work sites grow increasingly violent. Desperately short-staffed facilities are often leading to understandable frustration and fear amongst patients and their loved ones. Something we are seeing at rising levels across the system. Nurses and healthcare workers are treating more patients with complex health needs. Wait times in emergency rooms are ballooning and the toxic, the joint toxic drug and COVID crises are adding strain to an already overtaxed healthcare system. Whether it's nurses, doctors, and all healthcare workers, or even our patients, their families and visitors, we need a healthcare system that is safe. One where violence, threatening behaviors, and the health care system that is safe. Threatening behaviors, harassment is no longer tolerated and normalized. There are simply not enough protections in our workplaces to keep nurses safe from violent incidents when they do occur. During the past decade, hundreds of British Colombians, hundreds of British Colombian nurses have been injured on the job due to violence. The impact of this violence has been far-reaching, the lives of the nurses who often never return to work. While placing huge strain on their families, coworkers, their employers, and the community, the healthcare system has a duty to each and every one of these groups to do better. BCNU has been tireless in our advocacy on this regard. We have spent the past 10 years advocating for hands-on trained security in emergency rooms, high-risk sites, and other healthcare settings. Our multi-year province-wide campaign, violence not part of the job, brought the issue of violence and healthcare to the forefront and changed public perception of the issue. Since 2019, we have been calling for protective security officers to be part of the healthcare team at nearly two dozen high-risk work facilities. We have been calling on government to hire officers who understand the complexity of the environment and have the tools, skills, and mandate to reduce the risk of violence while fully understanding the importance of de-escalation and trauma informed action as part of the care team. Today's announcement is a step towards making this a reality at all healthcare facilities. BCNU expects to be fully involved in the implementation of this program and looks forward to improving workplace safety for the tens of thousands of dedicated healthcare professionals in this province who put their patients first. Too often at the risk of their own safety. Thank you. Thank you, Aamon, and it's important, I think, it's fundamental for healthcare workers, including nurses, to feel safe while they are caring for their patients. I know that this new model, which has been developed, and is going to be developed in consultation and is implemented in consultation and involvement of all healthcare unions, of healthcare workers, and of the public, is going to go a long way to promote workplace safety. Next, I would like to invite Mina Brasar, the secretary business manager, the hospital director. Thank you so much, Minister Dix. The hospital employees represents more than 50,000 skilled healthcare workers across British Columbia, and they work in hundreds of rules on the healthcare team. For some of our members, carried being the largest classification, acts of force and violence are the second largest reason for time lost due to injury at work, the first being soft tissue injuries. While the majority of interactions our members have with patients, with care home residents, and the public are usually safe and routine, but that's not always the case. For some, their interactions with the healthcare system happens on difficult days. Days when they are experiencing trauma and stress or confusion and fear. So we are very much in support of the minister's plans to create the best resources into in-house protection service officers who are specifically trained in trauma-informed practice and who can assist in mitigating violent episodes and deescalating potentially violent situations. Now, integrating these new staff into the healthcare team as health authority employees is critical to coordinating our work on violence prevention across the healthcare workforce. I want to thank the minister for his ongoing support for switch BC, an agency specifically focused on improving health and safety outcomes in healthcare. As you have heard, switch BC is leading our work in improving the provincial violence prevention curriculum. We are proud of our role in helping negotiate this new agency and we are looking forward to the important work they will do in making our healthcare workplaces safer. Workplace injuries, including those due to violence, are contributing to worker burnout and compounding our staffing crisis. So these investments in worker health and safety today will help our efforts to retain skilled staff and recruit healthcare workers we need for the future. They will also make healthcare safer for patients and the public by refocusing our violence prevention efforts and recognizing trauma and deescalating our workplaces. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mina. I would like to now introduce our next speaker, David Derning from the Health Sciences Association. He is the occupational health and safety advisor to the Health Sciences Association. Welcome to the stage. David. I am doing the whole move. I am going to where you are going. Thank you, minister Dix. I would also like to thank my colleagues who have joined us here at BC. As minister Dix said, I am David Derning with Health Sciences Association. Our union represents approximately 20,000 workers, many of whom are in the front lines in healthcare across the province working in a team environment along with colleagues from the BC nurses union, with physicians, with hospital employees, workers and others across the health sector. We along with many of our colleagues have been advocating for improvements in health and safety, especially in terms of dealing with violence and aggression in the workplace for many years. We worked collaboratively a number of years ago in developing the provincial violence prevention curriculum which has been rolled out across the province and we have been advocating more recently for the need to update that curriculum from a trauma informed understanding of situations in our workplaces and we are happy to work with you all forward. Work in the health sector, as most of you will know, is really based on teamwork. So we work together in teams at all levels in the health sector and there is a need to be very specific and focused when we look at violence prevention in our workplaces and there is a need to work collaboratively among all of the stakeholders in the sector when we are reviewing our health and safety procedures around dealing with violence and aggression in the workplace and including protection services in those discussions and to really work to expose some of the gaps that exist in our systems and there is a need to update those systems so again we really appreciate this opportunity and investment in health and safety across the sector and we look forward to working collaboratively with our colleagues as we review the violence prevention curriculum and look at ways and opportunities to really work towards having safer workplaces for all workers in the sector which will make it much easier for recruitment and retention of staff going forward and it is in the best interests of workers and all of our patients and clients to have a safe workplace where violence and aggression should not be at the top of mind for anyone going to work these days in the health sector so once again we appreciate this opportunity. Thank you very much David and I think it is fair to say that these have been unbelievably challenging times to public health emergencies and all of the challenges that face our health care system and the extraordinary response of health care workers including health sciences professionals in our province who have just done exceptional work over the last few years under sometimes challenging circumstances. It is now my pleasure to welcome Victoria Schmidt, the CEO of switch BC to speak more about the role of switch BC in today's announcement. Victoria? Victoria. I will go this way. I will go to your spot. Thanks so much minister Dix and also thank you to our partner organizations HSA, BC nurses union and HEU who are here today for this announcement and thank you for allowing switch to be part of this really important work. I want to acknowledge that switch BC does its work across the country and that is on the unceded territories of close to 200 distinct first nations as well as acknowledging first matee and Inuit who make their homes on these lands. Everyone working in health care has the right to be safe and healthy, to thrive on the job and to go home safe to their friends and their families. Today's announcement reinforces that we need to address these complex challenges that we have in health care in a collaborative manner across the country and across the communities. At switch BC we are honored to be leading the refresh of the provincial violence prevention curriculum for everyone who works in health care in BC. As the minister said, switch BC stands for safety, well-being, innovation, training and collaboration in health care. We are a new organization and we are focused on workplace health, safety and well-being for the close to 300,000 workers who work in health care in this area. We recognize that it is diversity of thinking and diversity of experience that creates the most robust solutions. That is how we will be approaching this work. Our partners at BC nurses union in 2019 found that on average 26 nurses a day were reporting injuries due to violence in the workplace. I know personally that effect because I am married to a nurse and I have been impacted by violence in the workplace through my relationship. I know that when we look at just in our nursing workforce, that is close to one person a day being impacted by violence in the workplace. We also know that under reporting in health care is huge ironically because the incidents are so frequent. We have to do something about this. Work safe BC found in 2020 that 59% of all violent incidents were actually reported in health care and social services. That is why it is so important to work in law enforcement. I have watched so many health care teams get back to work after a violent incident and put the needs of their patients, clients and residents ahead of their own needs. That trade off is unacceptable. We shouldn't have to look at delivering exceptional patient care at the expense of staff and physicians in our system. We have to do better. We will do better and the way we will do this is to than it did six years ago when this curriculum was refreshed. We know now so much more about the importance that trauma-informed and cultural safety and humility principles play in actually preventing violence in the first place but also in de-escalating people when they are in an agitated state. We know that really well-developed training leads to lower incidents and the risk of violence in the workplace. We also know that different people have different experiences depending on where they work. So the experience of a porter working in northern BC is going to be different than the experience of a health care aide in Vancouver or a surgical team in Kamloops. And how we deliver and create curriculum has to look at those differences in order for it to be effective. We need to look at different methods of delivery and how people learn. We also need to look at language. We speak so many languages across the province and we have to make sure that our training is accessible to everyone. And we need to create consistency in how the program is delivered and how that training is delivered. So regardless of where you work in health care, you deserve the highest quality training possible. We also know most importantly that hearing directly from people who are involved in working in health care is how you create the most robust solutions and we want to hear from you. If you work in health care in this province, we want you to go to switchbc.ca and look for the your say link and help us build the best program possible to prevent violence in the workplace. Together we can create a violence prevention program that protects healthcare teams and allows us to deliver the best care possible for patients, clients and residents. And this is a delicate balance that our teams work through every single day out in the system. Education is one vital part of keeping the people who work in health care safe. This coupled with the additional supports announced today by the Ministry of Health are concrete steps that we can take to collaboratively work to better care for the people who care for us. Thank you. Thank you. Healthcare employees, patients and families all deserve healthy environments to give and receive care. And today is an important day for every one of us who understands the critical impact of healthcare workplace safety on the well-being of patients, their families, healthcare workers and the healthcare system. We are on I'm honored to be here with this team. I think that the work of SwitchBC is so assisted and informed by the fact that representatives of workers are on the board driving the agenda as well as representatives of work safety and of the public. And I think these are critical. This is a critical time to make improvements as is required in all of the elements of our Health Human Resources Plan but part of that plan surely has to be to retain healthcare workers and ensure healthcare workplaces are such the people that we're recruiting in that system can feel safe to do the work that is so necessary for the public good in BC. And with that I'm happy to take your questions. Thank you. A reminder to the reporters on the phone, please press star one to enter the queue. You'll be limited to one question and one follow-up. Please also remember to take your phone off mute as you are not audible until your name is called. The first question is from Rob Buffen, CTV, Vancouver Island. Hi Rob. Oh hi, good morning. Can you hear me okay? Can hear you great. It's like you're here. Good, good, good. Well listen, I only have one question because it's not specifically on this topic but I wanted to get your reaction minister to what is a current shortage of flu and cold medicines we're seeing on Vancouver Island at least many pharmacies in the area especially when it comes to kids cold and flu medicines simply don't have that. I spoke to one on Friday that said they've been told they won't get it till January. And as you know we're entering cold and flu season. What's your reaction? Is there anything the province can do and what is your reaction to this situation? Well, my reaction is that it's obviously not a positive thing and we have to we're working and this is a supply chain issue at a manufacturing level and at a national level that we're facing and we're working with the federal government to try and improve access to these things but what it also says is in this in this season for people of all ages who are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine or a flu shot which is most everybody in one way or another right now is that they get their COVID-19 vaccine and they get their flu shot it's important for the healthcare system but it's important for you we've had we're off to an extremely good start in our flu shot campaign we're well ahead of the pace of last year and the year before I think at this point we're at in the neighborhood of 400,000 flu shots we've done we're between 700 and 800,000 bivalent Moderna or Pfizer vaccines that have been administered so these are important things but we need to keep going if you've been invited or COVID-19 vaccine go and get vaccinated if you've been invited for a flu shot and that's just about everybody now go and get vaccinated and we've seen a good response so far but the key part of it is now to push those numbers into the millions from the hundreds of thousands and if we do that that will help with the prevention both of severe outcomes and the prevention and the lessening of the impact of flu season and obviously of COVID-19 on everyone it affects our hospitals it affects our public health as well and people's ability to go on with their lives so I strongly encourage people to be vaccinated and these demands in terms of the non-prescription healthcare the non-prescription drugs that are where there's a challenge in the marketplace now it's not just these we've seen some of these through the COVID-19 pandemic with the you can tell listeners in terms of when we might see medicine remember these aren't these aren't in general these are not produced by government right so if it's a supply chain question it's a it's a supply chain question outside of government I know that we're obviously actively working and we're actively encouraging people to ensure that we're not having a rush on the remaining supply which can cause a problem as well in lots of places but there there isn't any timeline that timeline would come in the case of specific cold and flu non-prescription cold and flu products medicines you know outside of government so it's the role of our governments to work with suppliers and both encourage them and to see what we can do and to work obviously with pharmacy to make sure that those supplies we have are properly distributed but it's a challenge and it reminds us Rob and I know you've heard me say it to the last question of the need to get vaccinated need to get your flu shot need to get your COVID-19 bivalent vaccination now when you're invited to do so and and this is all the more reason to do so and this these supply chain issues which you see in a lot of areas of the economy have a real impact and they they cause real concern especially for family members and for I'm for children especially obviously for children but for their mums and dads and others so we have to we're going to do what we can to assist in this matter but we also have to do what all of us can do which is to get vaccinated. Our next question is from Camille Baines, Canadian Press. Hi Camille. Hi Mr. Kate, how are you? I'm doing great. I'm fully vaccinated Camille, I'm fully vaccinated. I'm with you there. So what about long-term care and home care workers who are not working at sites operated by health authorities? Does this violence prevention program have anything to do with them? So the some of this is is other sites but this is primarily focused on 26 sites that have been identified both by switch by the Ministry of Health and by by workers by the BC nurses union by the hospital employees union by the Health Sciences Association where we're seeing the most significant incidents. This model may extend out beyond that but that's what we're looking at right now. In long-term care there are significant occupational health and safety issues. One of them was the fact that when I became Minister of Health 90% of facilities were below staffing standards minimum staffing standards the one set by the government itself and we've taken action to improve that situation. We have added on the infection control side and with the age cap program some 6600 health care workers but the challenges of long-term care the challenges that there are ongoing issues to be worked on as well but this model is focused mostly not exclusively but mostly on acute care and of course some of the significant places where there are challenges including emergency rooms including mental health units of acute care hospitals so that's our focus but that doesn't mean there aren't issues in long-term care as between residents sometimes because of the circumstances of those in long-term care and staff and and sometimes others. The situation in long-term care was different over the period of the early period of the pandemic. They're obviously less open than hospitals are to visits but now we're back on visitations and we're obviously carefully monitoring this but this initiative today the 320 staff the 26 sites that's been identified with health care workers and with the Ministry of Health. Camille do you have a follow-up? Yeah thank you. I'd like to know when this program is expected to get started and if you could walk me through maybe I'm going to do that regarding some of the triggers that cause violence and who is most likely to be a perpetrator of violence? I might ask Victoria if you want to speak to the letter in a moment. We're proceeding now and so even in this fiscal year which is between right now the end of October approaching the end of October and March 31st it'll be an expenditure of four point one seven million dollars as we build out and hire and perform all the training over the next over the next period. So I think we're proceeding and obviously when you're talking about hiring both hiring staff and putting in place new models in addition to what we have now that takes some time but we're starting the work is starting and you'll see action you're seeing action now and in this fiscal year and then obviously built over out after that. So I think this is a key part of both the health human resources agenda and a key part of advocacy of nurses in BC of health care workers in BC of health sciences professionals in BC of doctors in BC. They have advocated for this kind of change in model and we're doing two things here. One we're involving everyone in the implementation proposal by involving switch BC which is a joint venture between people who work in health care and the and the provincial government has an outstanding new team and WorkSafe BC of course on on the one hand and the other is the investment in staff and you know significant changes have occurred in the past you know this the privatization of workers in 2002 and other steps that have been taken to cut back supports in this area in those years that followed well circumstances I think mean that that approach is no longer acceptable and that's why we're taking the action we've taken today having received and heard what our workers have said perhaps you want to speak to the question of yeah so I would say when it comes to who are the perpetrators of violence in the system it really can be anyone and I say this because this is why we're focused on refreshing the curriculum and training because what we do know is that our ability to recognize and understand how trauma impacts people will be very important our ability to de-escalate people who are agitated will be really important I've seen a father come into our system and commit a violent incident because he was so distraught because he felt like he couldn't help his son in the state that his son was in this was a perfectly regular person that just came in with their son and and turned into a violent incident in our workplace I've seen someone come in with previous trauma that was re-triggered by the care that they were receiving and commit violence in the workplace there are lots of reasons why people are violent in our workplaces and that's why we are really focused on creating a very robust training system that helps our workers know when to recognize people that may have trauma in their background recognize when people may be escalating and recognize when you need to ask for extra help when treating patients clients and families next question is from Martin McMahon city news Martin go ahead hi Martin hi minister I've got a question for Miss Greywell to start or anyone else who could speak to this that we've heard in general about statistics but would you mind sharing a personal story or two about what you've seen in terms of violence at hospitals I appreciate there may be some privacy concerns but as long as names or locations aren't used hopefully there's a way of just sort of highlighting some of these situations yeah when I'm certain and maybe Alvin you can speak to that I think um I think one of the things we have to understand that and you spend it anytime in particular acute care hospital but also excuse me with mental health in a mental health facility or unit when you spend time in general there I think we we all have to acknowledge we have to acknowledge this as family members we have to acknowledge this as patients when we go into hospital that we're never at our best no one wants to present in an emergency room unless they're not doing well and that means by definition for starters we're not at our best these are really challenging times we had a circumstance last fall where people in the hundreds had to be moved out of critical care principally in the northern health authority south we have on friday we had roughly 9500 people in acute care hospitals across bc and all of these present real challenges and they're real challenges on different days it's not every day where the emergency room is really busy but when it is and the circumstances are such you know sometimes on a friday night or whatever it can be very difficult recently just because of a family member I had occasion to be spend a number of weeks as a as a family member in a hospital and you see that up and down and how it can come on as well without notice sometimes there are days when things are extraordinarily busy and there's there's tension other days though it can come because we are not at our best and that's why making these changes and giving priority to staff and their need for security and to be violence free is a real important part of a health human resources plan as important as recruiting people to the hospital thank you minister dicks and hello martin so there are many different occasions where violence can take place there are the long wait times that people get frustrated and don't understand why they aren't being treated first because to them their injury or illness is important but you may have a trauma that may have come in or other more serious patients that you need to tend to and the wait lists are long we've had patients who have had their surgery deferred in the evening they were on the wait list on call to go to the or and then an emergency surgery came they got bumped and they were bumped to the next day they had been fasting all day frustrations over being not having the surgery but also having been fasting all day um we have the mental health and addictions where we do have people coming in to our emergency rooms who are you know intoxicated on a substance and they are not of their right mind at that moment and so their behavior can be erratic can be aggressive and sometimes they have to be restrained or put into a security room and they will oppose that and you need security to assist with getting them in there to for their own protection but they're not understanding that so there are a lot of different scenarios that take place it can be a family member that gets upset at the treatment that is being provided or not getting enough information and that may just be enough that they will become violent and aggressive we do have homeless people that are admitted to the hospitals who then you know there are challenges with other people coming in and wanting to stay with them in the hospital and us having to remove them because they're not being taken care of in the hospital setting and we need to ensure the safety of all of our other patients so we don't know the scenario it always is something different and unexpected and you know our staff all the allied health care workers etc do an amazing job trying to de-escalate but this news of having the protection service officers is very welcome news thank you you have a follow-up uh yes a question for minister dicks given the moment we're in we hear concern from some about policing and how it's done i understand the security personnel are not police officers but are you worried at all that some people will be maybe hesitant about coming to hospital due to more of a security presence there um no i don't think so i think um this is why the training in this model is important we want to de-escalate as much as possible but we want to i think what what i'm saying is the decisions that have been taken the past to private high security services and to downgrade them we're not the right decisions and we have to make different decisions now at a time of two public health emergencies and so i think people will should see this and take comfort in this action because while it protects healthcare workers there's a lot of people in an emergency room there's a lot of people in the hospital at any given time there are family members there's the patients or prospective patient there's um and there's other staff and obviously the rcmp um especially when they're bringing people in who may be under arrest or other circumstances are have a presence in uh or municipal police force have a presence in in our hospitals now so i think um this action taken today is not an issue of us protecting health care workers against patients it's protecting patients and health care workers and family members and making the health care environment safe in these 26 locations and i expect others in future so i think quite the contrary that we obviously have a lot of people presenting in health care right now more than we would typically we do as well at urgent and primary care centers and other places because there's less in there's been less in-person care now for a couple of years and these are issues we're working on with all our employees across all aspects of care but i think i think patients in particular people coming in would expect that place to be safe and these actions help make our health care facilities safer next question is from mark knelson prince george citizen mark hi mark hi there hi hi hi thank you for taking my questions um just first off wanted to confirm that uh prince george will be part of this program yes the three in the northern health authority mark or mills memorial prince rupert regional hospital and university hospital in northern british columbia and these sites were um were jointly identified by uh ourselves by the bcnu by the hospital employee union by the health sciences association and others these are the sites where we see the most urgent need right now so yes the university hospital northern british columbia will be part of this program mark do you have a follow-up i would i i shared yes i do as i i i'm trying to get a bit uh some specifics maybe on on how the security aspect works are these we're going to be hiring more security guards um and will they be hired directly by the province um and will they be receiving additional training to what they presently be given being have been getting would that be the way to put it mark you got it almost exactly right and so i hesitate to add to that but yes uh i'm fully implemented 320 full-time equivalent which means full-time in-house unionized protection services officers and 14 violence prevention leads will be hired uh across health authorities so that's significant and yes we're uh developed we're we're putting in place a new relational security model which is being developed and switch bc talked about this a bit that ensures that all security personnel have an have an awareness of patients in their surrounding as well as how to anticipate de-escalate and ultimately prevent aggression as victoria schmidter said earlier the circumstances of different hospitals and different health authorities both in terms of sometimes the use of different languages other things makes them uh means that there are a variety of challenges in other words this model has to meet the challenge of a particular health care facility that is being put in but in general you're right it means hiring more people in-house it means putting in place a new security model and it means ensuring people are trained and well trained in that model and that's why we are we've integrated this effort why we've brought together the various players we're going to work together to put this in place uh in part through switch bc which is developing the training our next question is from shannon peterson ctv shannon go ahead hi shannon hi it's patterson said that's okay i i know you're a big type television star so everyone knows sure yeah exactly um so i might you answered my last question a little bit but um the last question answered it but are these going to be uniformed security guards that say security or will they be people who look more like plain clothes who are there to help in less of a visible way to try to de-escalate the situation like will the members of the public notice these people or will they be sort of amongst hospital staff and less visible yes they will be noticeable absolutely they will be noticeable i mean a hospital is um and i hesitate to discuss this with so many experts in the room right but a hospital is in many ways a highly structured place right so you often know not just in terms of security but who you're dealing with by the kind of uniform they're using right that's from from uh health care assistants to uh to doctors to nurses to science professionals to others so um yes they will be noticeable and they'll be trained and and uh and they'll be trained especially in de-escalation they'll be there to support uh healthcare workers as they go about their tasks we do have of course security anyone who's been a hospital knows we have security in hospitals this is in addition to this to ensure a higher level of safety and security in a time when i think that those things are necessary for everyone i think it's a fair statement to say they've been necessary for some time in fact you know i think it's fair to say that that they were necessary um uh in years where there were cuts made to this area but we've seen an increase really since the early 2000s in both work safe claims related to violence and issues around occupational health and safety in general for health care workers and those are key issues to address we need our we need um our health care workers in bc our health care workers our health care professionals everybody to be able to feel safe so yes indeed you will be able to identify this highly trained group of workers who whose job it will be to keep everybody safe from patients to families to of course health care workers Shannon Patterson do you have follow-up yes uh so these will be uniformed security guards the 300 and some odd people that are being hired will they look different than other security guards will they uh be labeled differently with to switch health um i'm just trying to get a sense of what people may notice if they go to the hospital that might be different once this is fully implemented and to these officers not officers security guards have the ability to physically restrain if necessary or would that always come down to police if it's required at different points of course people there's i i think and i'll uh i can ask very others can forward but there are all kinds of procedures in place now people will know sometimes they're in a hospital and they'll hear this they'll hear a code white and code white means there's an issue and somewhere in the hospital and people are responding to that and they do have to engage with patients yes that happens now and this is an improvement and increase in support for the training the de-escalation of that but yes the support for health care workers when when incidents happen and they do happen when you bring thousands of people together in a place every day and many of them aren't at their best and are struggling so uh the the what you're going to have is people in place who will be identifiable and who will work to de-escalate those incidents and support health care workers uh hopefully before incidents occurred and as they're occurring our next question is from moira witton the tai moira go ahead good afternoon um thanks for taking my question minister why is this violent not tracked and publicly reported by government um and do you have any any plans to do so with this new announcement well um i think that if you look across the board you'll see that um it is let me just give you some statistics on violence and you you get many of these statistics in different forms about time loss claims through to violence over time through worksafe bc so from q4 2021 to q3 2022 there have been 4,438 reported incidents of violence and 721 worksafe bc time loss claims due to violence and this uh resulted in an approximate total of seven million dollars in total worksafe bc claims across the health care system but i think it's fair to say that the impact of that is um is significantly more i can't be quantified by something like seven million dollars is impact on the workplace on the individuals involved on the people that work to them on the people who are there is significantly greater than that and we hear that from health care workers so um those are some of the statistics i'm sure if you need more we'll be able to provide them why or do you have a follow-up i do thank you following up on martin's question we know through reporting by myself and colleagues that many indigenous people and people who use substances have who peacefully thought care have been removed often um been harmed by security uh from a number of emergency departments in bc specifically at royal jubilee and victoria um what kind of safeguards will there be and accountability will there be um with this new program to ensure that it's not uh increasing the disproportionate impact that security measures have on marginalized people um first of all as you know in uh july of 2020 um i asked mario and terpela fawn to do the report which became in plain sight and it's one of the outstanding reports that's ever been produced and we are acting on all its recommendations and these issues and others were cited in those reports and are the subject of very significant efforts on the part of led by in most in most if not all incidents by uh and involving indigenous people themselves so there are issues across the healthcare system with respect to um racism targeting indigenous people and those actions require significant actions across the system including in those areas including actions have been undertaken already this is not something that's taken place in isolation and in fact the implementation of that in plain sight report which is i think generally recognizes outstanding and its implementation in cooperation and in co-leadership with indigenous people is and will make a significant difference so all of these actions have to be consistent with that and they are we will now go into the room we have katherine dibb cbc radio canada you will have one question and one follow-up bonjour c'est quoi le monde d'incident pour apporter dans la dernière année et aussi en fait c'est quoi que vous annoncez aujourd'hui et pourriez vous me le chiffrer aussi effectivement on a on annonce aujourd'hui un changement de notre système de sécurité dans dans 26 lieux en colombie britannique la grande majorité sont des hôpitaux mais il y en a d'autres ces lieux ont été identifiés par nos employés par nos syndicats et par le ministre de la santé et des réjets de santé donc 26 et on a dans le dans les communiqués de presse identifiés lesquels n'est-ce pas donc on peut les voir mais je voulais faire une liste mais c'est pas je pense nécessaire deuxième main on a envers embauché dans les prochains dans la prochaine année et la prochaine année la prochaine année 320 des employés à temps plein qui vont être des employés des réjets de santé régie de santé n'est-ce pas et ça c'est important et 14 gens qui vont mêler cet effort de prévention dans nos dans nos sites dans nos hôpitaux donc on a cela troisièmement on a on a donné de l'argent à switch pc pour développer les programmes nécessaire n'est-ce pas en travaillant avec nous switch pc est dirigé à la fois par le gouvernement par work safe pc et par nos syndicats Health Sciences Association BCNU et LHU et on commence aujourd'hui c'est-à-dire que cette année cette année fiscale ça va être quatre millions de 27 17 excusez-moi 20 17 millions de dollars et ça va bien entendre augmenter l'année des années à venir quand on est en plein amplement implementation du programme donc tout ça c'est le pro c'est le programme et des éléments de le programme 26 6 300 320 nouveaux employés et nouveaux systèmes qui est dirigé et développé ensemble par switch pc en même plus quatorze c'est-à-dire qu'ils veulent s'assurer d'implanter les éléments d'amélioration et quand vous dites c'est à partir de maintenant ça veut dire que c'est à partir d'aujourd'hui qu'on va commencer le processus et la date limite c'est quoi dans un an dans un an donc à partir d'aujourd'hui dans un an et pour la première question je me demandais on sait aussi que qu'est-ce qui frustre beaucoup les les membres du personnel dans le système de santé c'est le membre c'est le manque de recrutement c'est le manque de gens pour aider donc comment vous allez agir concrètement pour assurer plus de recrutement aussi comment mais ça fait partie de ce recrutement c'est parce que il faut garder nos propres employés n'est-ce pas donc agir dans dans cette direction c'est aider nos efforts de recrutement et d'avoir assez d'employés dans le système on a on a eu quand même beaucoup de réussite depuis 3 ans dans le système santé dans le mesure où il y a 38 000 personnes de plus on perd des gens on ajoute des gens mais il y a net 38 000 personnes de plus mais il va en falloir plus n'est-ce pas continuer ces efforts donc on a ajouté des places pour nos infirmières on a créé un programme H-CAP qui a ajouté des milliers de travailleurs dans le système de santé on a des programmes des employés qui travaillent dans la science de santé la science association on a des programmes un peu partout et bien entendu nous travaillons actuellement avec nos médecins sur ces questions donc je pense que c'est tout un effort il y a sojourn des mesures qui sont nécessaires voilà aujourd'hui on parle d'une mesure essentielle mais il y en a d'autres bien entendu et on travaille à fond de livrer cette agenda oui bien entendu peut-être aujourd'hui thank you that concludes today's event thank you thank you


Well Justin is taking a last photograph here. Congratulations to this last team. Thank you. Got a couple of things that we need to do before we finish here today. And before we, before everybody disappears, I want to extend my thanks to a number of people. First to the friends at GS1 US who have worked together with us in creating this event, including Melanie Hilton and Bob Chekowitz. Bob was just up here. So a nice job, Bob, as well as the support from Bob Carpenter, who's the CEO of GS1. So we're really grateful for that. But there's a lot of other people who have been working behind the scenes to make this happen. Probably foremost is Catherine Nunziata sitting at the table on the back there. So grateful for her. There's a number of other people on the MIT events team and then Com's team, including Sarah. Let's see here. Marina, Emily, Benji, Dan and Chris. So you've seen them around working and appreciate that. And for the gentlemen in the back and the table, I want to say thanks to you for making the AV and all the systems go well. That's Owen, Justin and Eric. So please a round of applause for them. Now, the end of the day, remember what I said at the very beginning? I asked you to take some notes on what are your some of your a-has and insights. And so I'm going to let you do this in two ways. One is I've asked Catherine's putting up a poll right now. So it is an unlimited number of characters, but I'd like you to write down what are some of your a-has, your takeaways, your insights from this particular session. We had five different sessions. Try to remember each of those. Go back to your notes. Think about what some of the key takeaways are for those. You can write multiple ones. So I'm going to give you a few moments to do that. If somebody would prefer to raise their hand and be bold enough to actually use words in the microphone, I'm going to come down and I'll ask you to share your thoughts. That might be easier for some. I know it's not what we've done today, but there's still time left for human input here. Just direct human input.  Okay, that's fine. And what I'll do is, is it possible, Catherine, to put up the slide for the museum? Great. So as you're tapping away with your input and you'll be able to get inspired by some of the input that you see up here, I put a, we made a little slide here to help you understand how to get to the reception. And it's quite simple. We're going to exit using the elevator. And from the elevator it goes straight out, the elevator out the exit. And you can see this image up here that you're, we're in building E-14 right now. So when you exit, you're going to follow that blue line and that'll take you out to Carleton Street. You'll basically walk about 30 yards, maybe 20 yards, just past a little bit of construction. And then that's Carleton Street. But it's basically a first street. And you're just going to go walk straight down that towards the, a T, around here we call it the T, it's a trans, the local transit, the subway. And just to the left of that is the MIT Museum. It might take you three minutes to walk there. It's really not that far. But there's a lot of buildings here. It might be easy to get lost in and amongst those. So I want to make sure, so that's there for your edification. We're going to have some refreshments and some libations. And so let's just see what we got here. New life stages, gray, delayed, small and female, just right from the mouth of Joe Kauffin himself. I think we left a lot of questions on the table and a lot of things for us to think about. Particular to that, I was very pleased to be able to work with Wes and Julie and Joe. But I think there's a lot of other things that we need to really try to understand is how are these dynamics and changes going to affect supply chains? What do we need to do? I don't think we know the answers to those. But I think we need to start asking those questions and particularly thinking about the kind of changes we need for the people that we need. Reflecting on just the very last session with the introductory session by Charlie Sol, the importance of culture, and really that's the importance of how we interact with human beings. And I want to juxtapose that with our move to use AI and have us think about, well, how are we going to be able to use AI in a way that allows us to empower human beings and to make human beings feel more engaged with the businesses and our organizations? I don't think we know how to do that yet. That's an unresolved question, I think, that's for us to consider in the future. But something that you might want to start thinking about in your organizations and even thinking about the technology and the capabilities you need to have imbued in the employees that you will hire and that you, the ones you have on board, how you need to train them to be the ones who are providing a much higher level of service. Let's see, what else is popping up here? As you look at this, is there anything that anybody would like to volunteer or say, hey, this is really catching my attention. I would like to talk about that. Be careful if you go to scratch your hair, because I just saw somebody do that, I almost called on you. You really want the refreshments in the drinks, don't you? Interesting. Privacy, how it needs to be a higher priority for me. Again, this is one of those conflicts. We're very happy to give it away in a website from which we get something, but then we're reluctant to give that information in other environments. But really, a lot of what we want to protect is already out there. Gray is cool. I don't think Joe said that, but I think we're going to have to tell Joe that this is one of the takeaways here. Good master data is a unicorn. Don't we all know that? Yeah, interesting. Okay, as it looks so across the top, Catherine has arranged this so that it organizes these. Data seems to be the big top, a top subject area. Automation and culture are others. No innovation without culture. How many people here were a little surprised by Charlie's comments about the importance of culture? All right, there's one honest guy here. When I first heard the presentation that Charlie and his brother Dan gave about that, I found it to be really surprising. We all talk about culture, but he is able to use AI tools to actually come up with hard data that helps actually suggested that, hey, it really is important. And I think probably one of the takeaways I would have, and I think I am having, and we can talk about this, is how we're going to do surveys ourselves of employee satisfaction, because we use a scale not all that different than what he showed, and he had suggested, and Data would prove some out, that that's not very effective. There's some biases and some patterns that the respondents use that don't necessarily get that real interest and satisfaction. Okay, I think that's about where we're going to end it then. I appreciate you taking the time to be with us today. We have, there's a little bit of a time lag between now and when the, I'm looking at Catherine, right? It's 545, great. Okay, so there is a little bit of a we lag for, but time to take away all your things and it'll take like I said three minutes from the edge of the building to get there. So we look for, I look forward to seeing you there and hopefully be able to continue your conversations as we think about this. Catherine, can we capture this and then make this available? Okay, great. So whatever you're putting on here, not attributed, but we can make this available. So it may inspire you to remember some of the things that other people have, that you have observed and be inspired by some of the things other people have suggested. I want to thank you very much for investing your time today in this event. I know everybody's busy, has lots of things to do, we have businesses to run, hopefully this helps you go back and do a better job and do perhaps your work in a very different way going forward. Thank you very much.


Section 19 of Book of English Ballads by George Edward Read for LibriVox.org by Mike Harris The Nut Brown Maid Be it right or wrong these men among on women do complain, affirming this how that it is a labour spent in vain to love the Muella for never a deli they love a man again, for let a man do what he can, their favour to attain, yet if a new do them pursue their first true lover then laboureth for naught, for from her thought he is a banished man. I say not nay, but that all day is both written, said, that woman's faith is, as who sayeth, all utterly decayed, but nevertheless right good-witness in this case might be laid, that they love true and continue record the Nut Brown Maid, which when her love came from her to prove to her to make his moan, would not depart for in her heart she loved but him alone. Then between us let us discuss what was all the manner, between them too we will also tell all the pain and fear, that she was in now, I begin, to see that ye may answer, where for all ye that present be I pray you give an ear, I am the night, I come by night, as secret as I can, saying alas, thus standeth the case I am a banished man. And she would say, and I ear will for to fulfil in this will not refuse, trusting to shoo and wordest few that men have an ill use to their own shame women to blame, and causeless them accuse, therefore to you I answer now all women to excuse, mine own heart dear with you that cheer I pray you, tell an own, for in my heart of all mankind I love but you alone. He says, it standeth so I did is so do, where of great harm shall grow, my destiny is for to die a shameful death I throw, or else to flee the one must be none other way I know but to withdraw as an outlaw, and take me to my bow, wherefore ado my own heart true none other read I can, for I must to the Greenwood go alone a banished man. O Lord, what is this world as bliss that changeseth as the moon, my summer's day and lusty may is dark before the noon, I hear you say farewell, nay, nay, we depart not so soon, why say ye so, would it will ye go, alas, what have ye done, all my welfare to sorrow and care should change if ye were gone, for in my mind of all mankind I love but you alone. I can believe, it shall you grieve, and somewhat you destrain, but afterward your pain is hard within a day or twain, shall soon a slake in ye shall take comfort to you again. Why should you want, for to make thought your labor were in vain, and thus I do and pray you to as heartily as I can, for I must to the Greenwood go alone a banished man. Now, sitheth that ye have shooed to me the secret of your mind, I shall be plain to you again like as ye shall me find. Sitheth so that ye will go, I will or not leave behind, shall never be said that not Brown maid was to her love unkind. Make you ready for so am I, although it were unknown, for in my mind of all mankind I love but you alone. Yet I you read to take good heed that men shall think and say, of young and old it shall be told that ye be gone away, your wanton will for to fulfill in Greenwood you to play, and that ye might from your delight no longer make delay, rather than ye should thus for me be called an ill woman. Yet would I to the Greenwood go alone a banished man? Though it be sung for old and young that I should be to blame, there's be the charge that speaks so large and hurting of my name, for I will prove that faithful love it is devoid of shame, in your distress and heaviness, to part with you the same. And sure, although what do not so true lovers are they none, for in my mind of all mankind I love but you alone. I counsel you remember how it is no maidens' law, nothing to doubt but to rent out, to wood with an outlaw, for you must there in your hand bear a bow ready to draw, and as a thief thus must you live, ever in dread and awe. Whereby to you great harm might fall, yet had I lever then, that I had to the Greenwood go alone a banished man? I think not nay, but as ye say it is no maidens' law, but love may make me for your sake, as I have said before, to come on foot to hunt and shoot, to get us meet and store, for so that I your company may have I ask no more, from which to part it maketh my heart as cold as any stone, for in my mind of all mankind I love but you alone. For an outlaw this is the law, that men him taken by and without that he hang'd to be, and waver with the wind, if I had need as God forbid, what rescue could ye find? For sooth I throw you and your bow for fear would draw behind, and no marvel for little avail were in your counsel then, wherefore I will the Greenwood go alone a banished man. Right well know ye that women be but feeble for to fight, no woman heeded is indeed to be bold as a knight, yet in each fear if that ye were with enemies day and night I would withstand with bow and hand to grieve them as I might, and you to save as women have from death men many a one, for in my mind of all mankind I love but you alone. Yet take good heed, for ever I'd read that you could not sustain the thorny ways the deep valleys, the snow, the frost, the rain, the cold, the heat for dry or wet. We must lodge on the plain, and us above none other roof, but a break-bush or twain, which soon should grieve you, I believe, and he would gladly then that I had to the Greenwood go alone a banished man. Sith I have here been parting here with you of joy and bliss. I must all's part of your woe endure as reason is. Yet am I sure of one pleasure, and shortly it is this, that where ye be me seameth part I could not fair amiss. Without more speech are you beseech that we were soon a gone, for in my mind of all mankind I love but you alone. If you go thinder ye must consider when ye have lust to dine there shall no meat be before you get, nor drink, beer, ale, nor wine. No sheets clean to lie between, made of thread and twine, none other house but leaves and boughs to cover your head and mine. O mine heart, sweet, this evil diet should make you pale and wan, wherefore I will to the Greenwoods go alone a banished man. Among the wild deer such an archer as men say that ye be, may not fail of good vital where is so great plenty, and water clear of the river shall be full sweet to me, with which in hell I shall write well endure, as ye shall see, and, or we go, a better two can provide anon, for in my mind of all mankind I love but you alone. Lo yet before ye must do more, for ye will go with me as cut your hair up by your ear, your curtled by the knee, with bow in hand for to withstand your enemies if need be, and this same night before daylight to Woodward will I flee, if that ye will all this fulfill, do it shortly as ye can, else will I to the Greenwood go alone a banished man. I shall now do more for you than longeth to woman head, to short my hair a bow to bear, to shoot in time of need. O my sweet mother, before all other for you I have most treat, but now a dew I must ensue, where fortune doth me lead. All this make ye, now let us flee, the day cometh fast upon, for in my mind of all mankind I love but you alone. Nay, nay, not so ye shall not go, and I shall tell ye why. Your appetite is to be light of love by well a spy, for like as ye have said to me, in likewise hardly, ye would answer whosoever it were in way of company. It's said of old, soon hot, soon cold, and so as a woman, wherefore I to the Woodward will go alone a banished man. If ye take heed, it is no need such words to say to me, for off ye prayed and long as said, or I you loved par day, and though that I of ancestry a barren's daughter be, yet have ye proved how I you loved a squire of low degree, and ever shall whatsoever fall to die, therefore unknown, for in my mind of all mankind I love but you alone. A barren's child to be beguiled it were a cursed deed, to be fellow for an outlaw, all mighty God forbid, yet better were the poor squire alone to forest ye. Then ye shall say another day that by my cursed deed ye were betrayed, wherefore good made, the best read that I can. Is thy that the green would go alone a banished man? Whatever befall I never shall of this thing you upgrade, but if ye go and leave me so, then have ye me betrayed. Remember you well a how that ye dweller, for if ye as ye said be so unkind to leave behind your love the nut-brown made, trust me truly that I shall die soon after you be gone. For in my mind of all mankind I love but you alone. If that ye went ye should repent for in the forest now, I have pervade me of a maid whom I love more than you, another fairer than ever ye were I dare it will avow, and you both each should be wroth, with others I trove. If it were my knees to live in peace so will I if I can, wherefore I to the wood will go alone a banished man. Though in the wood I understood ye had a paramour, all this may not remove my thought, but that I shall be your, and she shall find me soft and kind and courteous every hour. Glad to fulfil all that she will command me to my power, for had ye low and a hundred moe of them I would be one, for in my mind of all mankind I love but you alone. My own dear love, I see the proof that she be kind and true of maid and wife in all my life, the best that ever I knew. Be merry and glad, be no more sad, the cases change it new. For it were Ruth that, for your truth, you should have caused to rue. Be not dismayed whatsoever, I said to you when I began. I will not to the green wood go, I am no banished man. These tidings be more glad to me than to be made a queen. If I were sure you should endure, but it is often seen. When men will break promise they speak the word is on the spleen. Ye shape some while me to beguile, and steal from me, I wean. Then were the case worse than it was, and I more woe be gone, for in my mind of all mankind I love but you alone. Ye shall not need further to dread, I will not disparage, you God forbid, sit he descend. Oh so great a lineage, now understand, to Westmoreland which is mine heritage I will you bring, and with a ring by way of marriage I will you take, and lady make, as shortly as I can. Thus have you won an earliest son and not a banished man. And the author says, Here ye may see that women be in love meek, kind, and stable. Let never man reprove them then, or call them variable, but rather pray God that we may to them be comfortable, which sometime proveeth such as he loveth. If they be charitable, for sith man would be that women should be meek to them each one. Much more ought they to God obey, and serve but him alone. End of the ballad of the nut-brown maid. This recording is in the public domain. Section 20 Of Book of English Ballads by George Edwards Read for LibriVox.org by Kalinda The False Lover A fair maid sat in her bower door, ringing her lily hands, and by it came a sprightly youth, fast trippin' o'er the strands. Where gang ye young John, she says? Sirely in the day? It gars me think by your fast trip your journey's far away. He turned about with surly look, and said, What's that to thee? I'm going to see a lovely maid, more fairer far than ye. Now how ye played me this false love in summer mid the flowers? I shall repay ye back again in winter mid the showers. But again, dear love, and again, dear love, will ye not turn again? For as ye look to other women, I shall do to other men.  I've chosen a maid more fair than thee, I never will deceive. But she's killed up clothing fine, and after him gaid she. But I, he said, you'll turn again, nay far to go with me. But again, dear love, and again, dear love, will ye never love me again? Alas, for lovin' you so well, and you know me again. But again, dear love, and again, dear love, will ye never love me again? Alas, for lovin' you so well, and you know me again. The next in town that they came till, he bought her moth and gloves. But I, he bade her turn again, and chose some other loves. But again, dear love, and again, dear love, will ye never love me again? For as ye look to other women, I shall do to other men. But again, dear love, and again, dear love, will ye never love me again? Alas, for lovin' you so well, and you know me again. The next in town that they came till, his heart it grew more fine, and he was deep in love with her, and she was our again. The next in town that they came till, he bought her a wedding gown, and made her lady a his and bower's in sweet Burwick town. End of Ballad. This recording is in the public domain. Section 21 of Book of English Ballads by George Edwards. Read for LibriVox.org by Susan Frum, The Mermaid. To Jan Faust's stream that near the sea hides money and elf and plum, and rives with fearful din the stains. A witless night did come, the day shines clear, far in his gain. While shells are silver bright, fishes while loopin' are around, and sparkling to the light. When, as he lived, sounds calm, say sweet, frae ilka rock and tree. The brief was out, it was him it doomed, the mermaids face to sea. Frae nitha rock, soon soon she rose, and stately on she swam. Stopped he the midst, and beck'd and sang, to him to stretch his hand. Gowden gleased the yellow links, that round her neck she'd twine. Her eon were o' the sky blue, her lips did mock the wine. The smile upon her bonny cheek, was sweeter than the bee. Her voice excelled, the birdies sang, upon the birchen tree. Say, Couthy, Couthy, did she look? And Meekle, had she fleached, outshot his hand. Alas, alas, fast in the swirl he screeched. The mermaid looked, her brief was gain, and Kelpie's blast was blowin'. Fool, oh, she dooked, near race again, for deep, deep was the fowin'. A boon in the stream his wreath was seen, while ox-tailed a lang at Glowman, that eon was chorus. The blast blew hoarse, airling the waves were foamin'. End of Ballad This recording is in the public domain. Section 22 of Book of English Ballads by George Edwards Read for LibriVox.org by Stephen Reed The Battle of Otterburn The First Fight It fell about the lamest tide, when husbands win their hay. The doughy Douglas bound him to ride, into England to take a prey. The earl of Fife, without in strife, he bound him over Sol Way. The great would ever together ride, that race they may rue for eye. Over Ottercap Hill they came in, and so down by Rotherly Crag. Upon Green Layton they lighted down, Strirand many a stag. And boldly Brent Northumberland, and harried many a town. They did our Englishmen great wrong, to battle, that were not on. They spake a burn upon the bent, of comfort that was not cold. And said, We have Brent Northumberland, we have all wealth in hold. Now we have harried all Bramberashire, all the wealth in the world have we. I read we ride to Newcastle, so still and stall worthy. Upon the morrow when it was day, the standards shone full bright. To the Newcastle they took the way, and thither they came full bright. Sir Henry Percy lay at the Newcastle, I tell you, without in dread, he has been a Marchman all his days, and kept Burwick upon tweed. To the Newcastle when they came, the Scots they cried on hype. Sir Henry Percy, and thou best within, come to the field and fight. For we have Brent Northumberland, thy heritage good and right. And sin my lodging I have take, with my brand, dubbed many a night. Sir Henry Percy came to the walls, the Scottish host Forty-C, and thou hast Brent Northumberland, for sore it rueeth me. If thou hast harried all Bramberashire, thou hast done me great envy.  Where shall I bind thee, said the Douglas, or where wilt thou come to me? At Otterburn, in the highway, thou mayest thou well lodged be. The row full reckless there she runs, to make thee, game and glee, the falcon and the pheasant both, among the Holties on he. There mayest thou have thy wealth at will, well lodged there mayest thou be. It shall not be long ere I come thee till, said Sir Henry Percy. There shall I bind thee, said the Douglas, by the faith of my body. Thither shall I come, said Sir Henry Percy. By troth I plight to thee. A pipe of wine he gave them over the walls. For sooth, as I you say, there he made the Douglas drink, and all his host that day. The Douglas turned him homeward again, for sooth without an nay. He took his lodging at Otterburn upon a Wednesday. And there his fight his standard down, his getting more and less, and soon he warned his men to go and get their gildings, Gress. A Scottish knight, hooved upon the bent, a watch I dare well say. So was he where on the noble Percy, in the dawning of the day. He pricked to his pavilion door, as fast as he might run. A waken Douglas cried the night, for his love that sits in throne. A waken Douglas cried the night, for thou mayest waken with wine. Yonder have I spied the proud Percy, and seven standards with him. Nay, by my troth the Douglas said, but is but a feigned tale. He durst not look on my broad banner, for all England so hail. Was I not yesterday at the Newcastle, that stand so fair on time? For all the men the Percy had, he could not gear me once to dine. He stepped out at his pavilion door, to look, and it were less. Array you'd, Lordlings, one and all, for here begins no peace. The Earl of Menteeth, thou art my Emmy, the Ford I give to thee. The Earl of Huntley, Court and Keane, he shall with thee be. The Lord of Buchan, in armour bright, on the other hand he shall be. Lord Johnston, and Lord Maxwell, the two shall be with me. Swindon fair field upon your pride, to battle make you bowen. Sir Davy Scott, Sir Walter Stewart, Sir John of Angerstone. The second fight. The Percy came before his host, which ever was a gentle night. Upon the Douglas loud did he cry, I will hold that I have hope. For thou hast Brent Northumberland, and done me great Envy.  The Douglas answered him again, with great words up on he, and said, I have twenty against thy one, behold, and thou mayst see. With that the Percy was grieved soar, for sooth as I you say. He lighted down upon his foot, and shot his horse clean away. Every man saw that he did so, that Ryle was ever enroute. Every man shot his horse him fro, and liked him round about. Thus Sir Harry Percy took the field, for sooth as I you say. Jesus Christ in heaven on high, did help him well that day. But nine thousand there was no more. If Chronicle were not lain, forty thousand Scots and four that day fought them again. But when the battle began to join, in haste there came a night. Then letters fear forth hath he tain, and thus he said, full right. My Lord, your Father, he greets you well, with many a noble night. He desires you to bide, that he may see this fight. The barren of grass-stock is come out of the west, with him a noble company. All they lodge at your Fathers this night, and the battle-fane would they see. For Jesus' love said Sir Harry Percy, that died for you and me, when'd to my Lord my Father again, and say thou saw me not with thee. My troth is plight to yon Scottish night, it needs me not to lain, that I should bide him upon this bent, and I have his troth again.   Every man think on his true love, and mark him to the trinity, for to God I make mine avow, this day will I not flee. The bloody heart in the Douglas's arms, his standard stood on high, that every man might full well know, besides stood stairs three. The white lion on the English part, for soon as I you say, the Luke's and the Crescent's both, the Scots fought them again. Upon St Andrew loud did they cry, and thrice they shout on high, and soon mark them on our Englishman, as I have told you right. St George the Bright, our Lady's night, to name they were full feign, our Englishman they cried on height, and thrice they shout again. With that sharp arrows began to flee, I tell you in certain, men of arms began to join, many a doughy man was their slain. The Percy and the Douglas met, that either of them was feign, they shapped together, while that they sweat, with swords of fine collane.  For I see by thy bright Bessonette, thou art some man of might, and so I do by thy burnished brand, thou art an earl or else a knight. By my good faith, said the noble Percy, thou hast thou red full right, yet will I never yield me to thee, while I may stand and fight. They swapped together, while that they sweat, with swords sharp and long, each on another so fast they beat, till their helms came in pieces down. The Percy was a man of strength, I tell you in this sound, he smote the Douglas at the sword's length, that he felled him to the ground. The sword was sharp and saw did bite, I tell you in certain, to the heart he did him smite, thus the Douglas was slain. The standard stood still on each side, with many aggrievous groan. There they fought the day and all the night, and many a doughy man was slown. There was no fricke that there would fly, but stiffly in stour did stand. A shone hewn on other, while they might dry, with many a baffled brand. There was slain upon the Scotty's side, for sooth and certainly, Sir James of Douglas there was slain, that they that he did die. The earl of Menteeth he was slain, grisly groaned upon the ground, Sir Davy Scott, Sir Walter Stuart, Sir John of Angerstone. Sir Charles Murray in that place, that never a foot would fly, Sir Hugh Maxwell, a lord he was, with the Douglas he did die. There was slain upon the Scotty's side, for sooth as I you say, or four and forty thousand Scots went but eighteen away. There was slain upon the English side, for sooth and certainly, a gentle night, Sir John Fitzhugh, it was more the pity. Sir James Herebotel there was slain, for him their hearts were sore, the gentle love there was slain, that the Percy's standard bore. There was slain upon the English side, for sooth as I you say, of nine thousand Englishmen, five hundred came away. The others were slain in the field, Christ keep their souls from woe, seeing there were so few friends against so many a foe. Then on the moor they made them bears, of birch and hazel gray, many a widow with weeping tears, their makes they fetch away. This fray began at Otterburn between the night and the day, there the Douglas lost his life and the Percy was led away. Then was there a Scottish prisoner taken, Sir Hugh Montgomery was his name, for sooth as I you say, he borrowed the Percy home again. Now let us all for the Percy pray to Jesus most of might, to bring his soul to the bliss of heaven, for he was a gentle night. End of ballad. This recording is in the public domain. My love he built me a bonny power, and clad it we a lily flower, a brawer power ye ne'er did see. Then my true love he built for me. There came a man, by middle day he spied his sport and went away, and brought the king that very night, who break my power and slew my night. He slew my night to me so dear, he slew my night and poined his gear. My servants all for life did flee, and left me in extremity. I sewed his sheet, making my mane, I watched the corpse myself alone. I watched his body night and day, no living creature came that way. I took his body on my back, and whilst I gade, and whilst I sat, I digged a grave and laid him in, and happed him with the sod so green. But think na ye, my hair was fair, when I laid the mowl on his yellow hair. Think na ye, my hair was way, when I turned about. Away to gay, nay living man I'll love again. Since that my lovely night is slain, with a lock of his yellow hair, I'll chain my hair to forever mare. End of Ballad. This recording is in the public domain. Section 24 of Book of English Ballads by George Edwards Read for LibriVox.org by Bridget Talon The Banks of Yarrow Later Ian drink in the wine, and ere they paid the lawing, they set a combat then between to fight it in the dooring. What though ye be my sister's lord, we'll cross our swords tomorrow. What though my wife your sister be, I'll meet ye then on Yarrow. Oh, stay at home, my own good lord. Oh, stay my own, dear marrow. My cruel breather with you betray on the dowy banks of Yarrow. Oh, fare ye wheel, my lady dear, and put aside your sorrow, for if I gay I'll soon return for the bonny banks of Yarrow. She kissed his cheek, she came to his hair, as off she'd done before.  When he gave up the tennis bank, as he gave many a morrow, nine armored men laying a den on the dowy braze of Yarrow.  I come not here to hunt or hawk as off thou'd done before, but I come here to wheel my brand upon the banks of Yarrow. If ye attack me nine to aim, then may God send ye sorrow, yet will I fight while stand I may on the bonny banks of Yarrow. Two has he hurt, and three has slain on the bloody braze of Yarrow, but the stubborn knight crept in behind and pierced his body thorough.  Her brother John gay'd o'er yon hill, as off he'd done before. There he met his sister dear, come running fast to Yarrow. I dreamt a dream last night, she says. I wish it'd been a sorrow. I dreamt I'd put the heather green with my true love on Yarrow. I'll read your dream, sister, he says. I'll read it into sorrow. Ye bidn't go take up your love, ye sleeping sound on Yarrow. She's torn the ribbons right ahead, that were breath-brayed and narrow. She's kilted up her long cladding, and she's away to Yarrow. She's tamed him in her arm's twa, and she's given him kisses thorough. She's sought to bind his money wounds, but he lay dead on Yarrow.  I'll wed you to a better lord than him ye lost on Yarrow. Oh, hold your tongue, father, she says. Far worse ye make my sorrow. A better lord could never be than him that lies on Yarrow. She kissed his lips, she caned his hair, as oft she had done before old. And there with grief her heart did break upon the banks of Yarrow. Hugh of Lincoln, showing the cruelty of a Jew's daughter. Four and twenty bonnie boys were playing at the bar, and up it stands him, sweet Sir Hugh, the flower among the ma. He kicked the bar there wee his foot, and kept it it with his knee, till even at the Jew's window he got the bonnie ball flee. Cast out the bar to me, firm maid, cast out the bar to me. Never a bit says the Jew's daughter till ye come up to me.  I winnie come, I may ne come, without me bonnie boy's awe. She's tainer to the Jew's garden, where the grass grew long and green. She's put an apple red and white, to wild a bonnie boyine.    She cast him in a deep draw well, was fifty fathom deep. When bells were rung and mass was sung, and every burn went hem. Then Ilka Lady had her young son, but Lady Helen had name. She rode her mantel her about, in seer sergan she weep, and she ran unto the Jew's house, where they were all asleep. My bonnies are hew, my pretties are hew, I pray ly to me speak. Lady Helen come to the deep draw well, Guinyi your son would seek. Lady Helen ran to the deep draw well, and knelt upon her knee. My bonnies are hew, and ye be here, I pray ly speak to me. The lead is wondrous heavy, ma'ther, the well is wondrous deep. A keen pen knife sticks in my heart, and it's hard for me to speak. Gehem, gehem, me, my dear, fetch me my winding sheet, and at the back of Mary Lincoln, it's there we twashe'll meet.  And all the balls of Mary Lincoln, without men's hands, were rung, and all the books of Mary Lincoln, were read without men's tongue.  End of ballad. This recording is in the public domain. Oh, where will I get a skeely skipper to sail a ship of mine? Oh, up on spack an elder knight, sat at the king's right knee, Sir Patrick Spence is the best sailor that ever sailed the sea. Our king has written a braid letter and seated it with his hand, and sent it to Sir Patrick Spence, who was walking on the strand. To Naraway, to Naraway, to Naraway, or the femme, the king's daughter of Naraway, tis thou man bring her hem. The first word that Sir Patrick read, say, loud, loud, laugh, tea, the next word that Sir Patrick read, the tear-blinded is he. Oh, why is this has done this deed, and tell the king on me to send us out at this time of the year to sail upon the sea. Be it wind, be it wet, be it hail, be it sleet, our ship must sail a femme, the king's daughter of Naraway, tis we much fessure, I am.  They hadn't have been a week, a week in Naraway but way, when that the lords of Naraway began aloud to say, ye Scottish men spend all our king's gold, and our king's fee, ye lie, ye lie, ye liars loud, foe lie'd I hear ye lie, foe I brought as much white money as again my men and me, and I brought a half foe of good red good out o'er the sea with me. Make ready, make ready, my merry men are, our good ship sails them on, now ever a lake my master dear, I fear a deadly storm. I saw the new moon late yestering, what the old moon in her arm, and if we gang to sea, master, I fear we'll come to harm. They hadn't assailed a league, a league, a league but barely three, when the lift grew dark and the wind blew loud, and girly grew the sea. The anchors break in the top mass slap, it was sick a deadly storm, and the waves came over the broken ship till all her sides were torn. O where will I get a good sailor to take my helm in hand, till I get up to the tall top mast to see if I can spy land? O here I am a sailor good to take the helm in hand till you go up to the tall top mast, but I fear the old nurse by land. He hadn't again a step, a step, a step but barely one, when a bout flew out of our goodly ship, and a salt sea it came in. They fetched a web of the silken clath, another oothe twine, and wap them into our ship's side, and let neither sea come in. They fetched a web of the silken clath, another oothe twine, and they wap them round that good ship's side, but still the sea came in. All lath, lath, were our good scotch lords, to weep their cock-touching, but lying o' the play was played, they wad their hats a-boom, and money was the feather-bed that flattered on the fame, and money was the good lord's son that never merked him. The ladies rang their fingers white, the maidens tore their hair. Ah, for the sake of their through-loves, for them they'll seen them ere. Oh, lang, lang, may the ladies sit, with their fans into their hands, before they cease their Patrick spends, come sailing to the strand. And, lang, lang, may the maidens sit, with their good cams in their hair, awaiting for the end their loves, for them they'll seen them ere. Oh, forty miles off Aberdeen, tis fifty theorems deep, and there lies good Sir Patrick spends, with a scotch lord at his feet. Section 26. A Book of English Ballads by George Edwards. Read for LibraVox.org by Drew Mike. End of ballad.