I’m pleased to share that our Southern Health-Santé Sud Code of Conduct policy and accompanying employee and manager resource are now available on a new Code of Conduct page on StaffNET. Please review this information with management and staff in your departments/portfolios and post on bulletin boards for easy access.

A code of conduct is a set of rules that guides employee behaviour within an organization. Until now, we have relied on several separate policies and resources, including Respectful Workplace policy, Conflict of Interest policy, and our Core Values resources. The Code of Conduct brings these other policies together to form a clearer message on expectations for management and staff at all levels of the organization.

Information in the Code of Conduct policy isn’t new. Expectations for employee and manager conduct contained in the policy are consistent with existing Human Resources policies, position descriptions, and our Core Values. The Code of Conduct resource was created to assist managers and employees navigate the policy and expectations, and notes additional expectations for those working in leadership positions.

Each day we have employees and managers working throughout our organization at various sites and programs, clinical and non-clinical, working with contractors or the public, providing direct client care, support or administrative functions. With the release of our Code of Conduct policy and resource, we hope to create a better experience for employees and managers at work, which results in a better patient experience.

We began working on these items following the Accreditation cycle in 2023 where a gap was identified. Since then, there has been extensive research on best practices, legal implications of a Code of Conduct, and review of what others in the province have in place already. I am very proud of our finished products and would like to thank the following teams that were instrumental in the development of the policy and resource: Southern Health-Santé Sud Ethics Committee; Quality, Planning & Performance; Communications; and Human Resources. I would also like to thank our Senior Leadership Team for support and feedback along the way.

Submitted by: Jennifer Frey, VP – Human Resources