The documents released by the official information law show that employees were notified at the end of last year of a plan to remove the incorporated security of some of the most problematic wards, including wing 10A, at Wakari Hospital.
This led to a hospital team member to climb his concerns with Worksafe, “due to a large number of team injuries and the serious nature of the assaults on the team.”
Health New Zealand what what happened to Otago Daily Times Yesterday decided not to proceed with the plan to remove the incorporated security of wing 10A.
In the complaint to Worksafe, the team member said the complexity of the Ward 10a patient mix, along with the layout and the condition of the poor wing, created “an unsafe work environment.”
The ward houses people with forensic stories and intellectual disabilities and/or mental health problems, “all which, when cast, pose a serious risk to others,” said the team member.
“This environment requires a unique approach, and incorporated security is necessary to keep people safe, especially until wing renovation is completed and returned to be an appropriate installation to the goal.
“A recent experience highlighting the importance of being immediately incorporated by hand was when a patient climbed and assaulted employees without advance warning signs.
“A team member was punched; the other two employees failed to make a successful restriction.”
In this case, the team member said that incorporated security was easily accessible and arrived very quickly to help restrict the patient.
“If safety was not available, more attacks and greater damage would result.”
Employees said the population of patients were “often impulsive, unpredictable and usually shows no early warning signs,” which means attacks may happen without notice.
“These incidents happen extremely fast and the response time is critical.
“Having safety available in immediate closeness is extremely important to decrease the risk of possible damage and injury.”
External security took a significant time to arrive, usually well after the attacks and damage, said the team member.
HNZ Southern Group’s director of operations, Hamish Brown, said the security team incorporated within hospitalization wards is a temporary and approved measure on a case by case basis.
“This temporary measure was implemented in wing 10A at Wakari Hospital for team and patient safety while recruitment was underway for various team vacancies.
“After these vacancies reduced significantly and, in consultation with the clinical team, we plan to remove this temporary security measure.
“However, for the continuous safety of the team and patients, it has been decided to keep this in force, and a member of the security team remains at Ward. Wakari Hospital on site also remains in force to support clinical areas and employees everywhere.”
A Worksafe -Voice door confirmed that a complaint had been climbing.
“Although Worksafe was notified, police took the lead in investigating and processing acts of violence in hospital environments.”
Wakari Hospital is under the microscope on several occasions and has been tormented by problems for several years.
Judge Peter Boshier, ombudsman’s boss, considered wing 10a “not appropriate to the goal” and a “volatile environment” in a 2022 report on a visit without notice.
The report said that he considered that the state of the wing was unacceptable and “the safety of the patient and the team committed, as well as the dignity of the patients.”
matthew.ltlewood@odt.co.nz
