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Workers at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon are calling for immediate help as violence in the emergency department continues to escalate with multiple incidents a day.
A letter emerged on Sunday that was signed by nearly 200 workers and allies of the Saskatoon hospital and sent to the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s (SHA) CEO Andrew Will.
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The letter cited an alleged incident on Nov. 27 involving a shotgun, knives, and violent threats against staff and asked for an immediate response and safety plan for workers and patients.
Several other instances of violence against front-line workers were described that included a grenade being brought into the waiting room and a patient spitting their blood in a hospital worker’s face.
According to the letter, these first-hand accounts were provided over a three-day period in December.
“I interrupted my patient and visitor having sex in the patient’s room. The woman became angry, charged at me, swearing and swung a stiletto at me, barely missing my face,” one statement said.
Another account described a situation where security was called because a patient was smoking in the waiting room and would not stop when asked.
“He pulled a knife out and proceeded to stab one of the security guards multiple times in the torso (fortunately he was wearing a protection vest). It took multiple security officers to subdue him.”
President of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN), Bryce Boynton, said after reading the letter he worries for the safety and well-being of health-care workers.
“This is absolutely embarrassing that this has become such a normal thing,” he said.
Boynton said the statements are the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to violence across the province in health-care settings.
“We’ve had people threaten physical violence, whether it’s biting, punching, kicking, slapping, or whether it’s things like sexual violence, like rape and sexual assault,” Boynton said.
“We also have emotional and verbal abuse going on where people’s lives are being threatened, their families are being threatened, and all just while they’re trying to do their job.”
The letter highlights initiatives health-care workers want to see addressed by the health authority and provincial government such as an urgent meeting with authorities and safety protocols such as bag searches and metal detectors at the hospital.
“They’ve done an excellent job highlighting some initiatives that need to occur in this letter, and I 100 per cent support their asks in this letter,” Boynton said.
“I’m eager to work with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and for the government to respond and follow through on these.”
NDP demands action on safety
At a media event on Monday, Saskatchewan NDP Deputy Leader Vicki Mowat demanded the province’s Ministry of Health address concerns to improve safety for hospital workers and patients.
Mowat also addressed a recent incident involving 36-year-old Trevor Dubois, who died in what police termed an “altercation” with security guards on Friday.
“While many details of this incident have still yet to emerge, let’s be clear that things like this should not happen, not in our public hospitals,” she said.
“While this incident is the most severe, it was the latest in a series of major security incidents at hospitals here in Saskatoon, we’ve heard from patients who are avoiding the emergency room due to the chaos there.”
A statement from the province’s Minister of Health Jeremy Cockrill said the SHA has deemed Dubois’ death a “critical incident,” and will be conducting a full investigation along with the Saskatoon Police Service.
“I have had recent meetings with the SHA to discuss some of these current challenges and will have more to say on those discussions in the days and weeks ahead,” Cockrill said in regards to the letter sent to the SHA.
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