An emergency room nurse at Abbotsford Regional Hospital was “savagely attacked” over the weekend, according to the BC Nurses’ Union.
Ian MacDonald of the Abbotsford Police Department says a 39-year-old man suffered cuts around his eye after being attacked by a 23-year-old man who was receiving medical treatment as well as mental-health treatment.
“This was a completely unexpected and unprovoked attack,” says MacDonald.
MacDonald says the suspect is under psychiatric care and police are recommending charges of assault causing bodily harm.
WATCH: Christine Sorensen of the BC Nurses’ Union discusses the latest attack on a nurse and what needs to be done to make health-care workers safer.
The incident comes a week after BC Nurses’ Union President Gayle Duteil requested better security for nurses across the province, including more safety officers and alarm systems.
The union has also created a new policy that includes a range of supports for nurses who are physically or psychologically injured on the job.
Duteil says the union has waited too long for the government and health authorities to take action as nurses continue being hurt.
In December, a Kamloops nurse was grabbed by the hair, punched several times and thrown against a wall. The incident happened a few days after a doctor was violently assaulted at a hospital in Penticton.
-with files from Canadian Press
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