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Metal detectors will reportedly be installed in Saskatoon and Regina hospital emergency departments.
This news comes after an open letter penned to Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) CEO, Andrew Will, was shared last week, citing dozens of threatening, scary and inappropriate incidents recalled by nearly 200 health-care workers at Saskatoon’s St.Paul’s Hospital.
According to a statement from the SHA, the metal detectors being deployed to urban hospitals come as a result of a “successful metal detection pilot” that ran at the joint emergency department entrance at Royal University Hospital (RUH) and Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon.
Read more:
- Violent incidents continue to escalate at St. Paul’s Hospital, workers say
- Family devastated at death of Prince Albert man after incident with security guard in Saskatoon hospital
- Union says man who allegedly brought gun and knives into hospital highlights need for better security
More information on the program is expected to be shared in the coming days, as well as “additional actions” from the SHA and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health to strengthen safety and security in hospitals.
“Safety is a core value of the SHA, and we are committed to supporting the safety and security of emergency departments and hospitals for patients, visitors and health-care teams,” the statement said.
Union responds
Vice President Jason Monteith of SEIU-West said the introduction of metal detectors was “welcome news”, but more needed to be done.
He said the policy would only secure one department at each facility.
“At RUH alone, there are 10-12 unsecured entrances at that hospital and in the last three months, we’ve seen hundreds of images of items that people have attempted to bring into the hospital includiong: guns, machetes, knives and so on,” Monteith told 980 CJME on Tuesday.
“We see this as a huge challenge, we see short-staffing as a huge challenge and it’s also affecting not only our security officers every day, but it also impacts health-care staff as a whole. We’re seeing it impacts our CCAs, our LPNs, our environmental service workers, lab services, doctors, patients, visitors – everyone’s affected by this.
“We see that recruitment and retention is clearly a huge concern right across the entire health-care system, but in particular with security officers. Many of our officers are leaving to pursue careers elsewhere.”
Monteith said these measures will help ensure staff safety, but also wants the SHA to continue to have meaningful consultation with front-line workers.
Monteith also stressed the importance of further investments into health care and urged the province to get a collective bargaining deal done, as many have been without a deal for two and a half years.
