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Employees can stop working at Palmerston North Hospital if they continue to feel at risk.
Photo: Jimmy Ellingham, RNZ
- The member of the team of Palmerston North Hospital was unconscious the same night that a nurse was sustained by armed hand
- Employees say they face violence and aggression every day
- They asked for reinforced power for hospital security
- Health NZ says it has introduced more security measures in recent weeks
A member of the Palmerston North Hospital team was unconscious the same night that another nurse was kept with a gun when he left the work.
The hospital senior staff say that no day passes without a health worker being abused or beaten, and employees are feeling scared and insecure.
They want security guards to have additional powers so that – as happens in courts and parliament – they can restrict people acting violently.
The hospital staff were shocked by what happened to the nurse kept with a gun, but may not have been surprised.
New Zealand Nursing Organization Delegate David Goldstone said that the same night, another colleague suffered a serious head injury.
“There was one [staff] Member inside the hospital that was knocked out, “he said.” He will not return to work.
“There was also another last week, when a guard was beaten. This happens every day,
“I am there 22 years and nothing has changed in 22 years in relation to aggression – there are no consequences. People think they can get away and come and do whatever they want.”
The Dorothy Mostofian organization delegate further described the reality for front line health professionals.
“There is no single change throughout the hospital when someone goes home at the end of the shift and says, ‘I was not spit, things played for me, verbally assaulted, I had no threat against my life and I didn’t feel like someone is following me.’
“I don’t think a single nurse, health assistant or doctor throughout the hospital can really say that.”
Last month, a man jumped into a nurse’s car when he finished the shift late at night, pointed a gun at her and told her to drive.
She managed to escape the unharmed car to increase the alarm. Police said his investigation into the incident continued.
Mostofian said that even the recent security impetus for emergency departments had no huge impact.
“These security guards are also being taken to areas of the rest of the hospital when they are needed, so we don’t have a 24-7 security guard in the department,” she said. “Even when they are there, they have no power to do anything.”
The Association of Esed Medical Experts delegated Dr. Thomas Carter, said employees could stop working if they continually feel at risk.
“It makes it very difficult when you have no support and you know it will be minutes, hours, days until you can solve this problem and that you will have a potentially violent person who is potentially sick.
“We cannot necessarily restrict them and hold them. We do not have this set of skills.”
After the nurse was threatened at the armed hand, the hospital said it increased security, with two extra guards who could accompany workers from and for their cars.
Employees were also allowed to change cars closer to the building at the end of the day, but in practice they often have no time for it. Instead, they would come together to walk to their vehicles or lead their partners to pick them up at the entrance.
Nurses’ delegate Victoria Richards said that dying or getting a safety escort is not always possible, as people ended in shifts at different times.
“[Two guards] It doesn’t go far enough, “she said.” We have a great space, we have many workers. “
Employees would like better lighting, improved security cameras, and safe parking that they could access. They met with Deputy Palmerston North Tangi Uskere to discuss this and, more widely, their security concerns and want to enable the security team.
“I made them a venture that I will try to directly engage with the ora-health nz locally here, as I do in a number of other questions from week to week,” Utakere said. “I will put them what they have to support the health and good -of their workers.”
NZ NZ Central Operations Group Director Sarah Fenwick said she was committed to getting employees to feel safer and recognized the armed hand incident, which did not happen on the hospital land, was disturbing.
Fenwick said the team member involved was receiving support and a series of measures was immediately introduced to increase team safety. This included vehicle safety escort, increasing safety services on hospital land and “opening” access to team parking for people who work in afternoon and evening shifts.
“The lighting was audited in all outdoor areas of carparking to ensure it is well maintained,” she said.
“Provisional access to well -lit parking, safely dedicated to employees who work in the afternoon and in the evening shift, will continue, while a more permanent out -of -time solution is developed.”
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