Nurses rallied in Burnaby on Tuesday, calling for safer working conditions.
The BC Nurses Union said its members are often targeted on the job and it is affecting patient care.
“I’ve seen nurses get spat on, punched, kicked, they’ve had equipment in the room used as weapons against them,” Claudette Jut, who works as a nurse, told Global News on Tuesday.
About 100 nurses gathered at the rally, calling for changes to working conditions but also a more effective way of reporting violent encounters.
“We need a better reporting system, a more central system and one that isn’t blaming or shaming nurses for coming forward,” Jut said.
The BC Nurses Union has been raising concerns about violence for years.
“We did see hiring of relational security officers which is a fabulous start, but it doesn’t go far enough,” Adriane Gear, the union president said.
“There’s many facilities around the province that do not have a provision of security.”
The union is also asking employers to ramp up enforcement of workplace safety policies and address illicit drug use that it says continues in some health-care settings.
The provincial government said it is providing training for existing security officers to prevent violence.
“How to de-escalate situations, what to do in these cases,” Health Minister Josie Osborne said.
“So, over time, building up these supports, working with the nurses and hearing from them directly, we’re going to see the changes that we all want to see.”
The union’s collective agreement expires next March.
Safety is a priority for the next contract and nurses said they are united in their call.