VANCOUVER – A string of assaults against health care workers has prompted the B.C. Nurses’ Union and the provincial government to invest $2 million in violence prevention at four high-risk hospitals.
Health Minister Terry Lake and union president Gayle Duteil announced today that the province and union will each contribute $1 million, after months of working together on a plan to tackle the chronic issue.
“We know that violence in the health-care workplace is a real challenge, faced by many dedicated health-care workers on a daily basis,” Lake said at a news conference.
The four sites to receive funding are the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Port Coquitlam, Hillside Centre in Kamloops, Seven Oaks Tertiary Mental Health in Victoria and Abbotsford Regional Hospital.
Depending on the site, upgrades over the next few months may include new distress button and communication systems, increasing staffing levels and improving mental-health education and training.
Duteil says 12 priority sites have been chosen and she hopes to move quickly to improve conditions at eight other hospitals, but no timeline has been provided.
She says a nurse who was seriously assaulted at Hillside Centre in April has returned to work, but a nurse who was badly beaten in Abbotsford Regional Hospital in March is still recovering.
WATCH: A nurse at Hillside Centre was seriously assaulted in April. John Daly explains what happened and what’s being done to address well-documented safety concerns.
“The problem is far bigger than just a dozen sites. The threat of violence is present in virtually every care setting including residential,” she said.
“So while we’re pleased to begin reducing the risks at these four sites, we’re resolved to see the issue of violence addressed across the entire health-care system.”
READ MORE: Abbotsford nurse ‘savagely attacked’ in emergency room, says union
Sandy da Silva, regional director of tertiary mental health at the Interior Health Authority, said Hillside Centre staff were “very pleased” with the announcement.
She said the facility will receive better technology and security cameras, new communication and conflict resolution training and more staff, especially for the night shifts.
The changes are supposed to be fully implemented by next March, but da Silva said she hopes to have many in place by December.
“We need to give it a fair shake to prove that these changes will make a difference in the future,” she said. “I’m really aiming for a rapid turnaround.”
Comments