Dozens of weapons, machetes, knives, seized at RUH in past three months: NDP

Dozens of weapons including machetes, knives, screwdrivers and a gun are just some of the items confiscated at a Saskatoon hospital over the past three months.

Photos released Thursday by the NDP show alcohol, drug paraphernalia and box cutters intercepted by security at a single metal detector location at the Royal University Hospital.

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“When I saw these images, I was shocked,” said NDP critic Nathaniel Teed. “I think my jaw hit the floor.”

“These are items that were attempted to be smuggled in (and) these were items that were caught,” Teed said, noting the items came from one out of 14 entrances at the hospital.

Earlier this week, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) announced that metal detectors will be installed in Saskatoon and Regina hospital emergency departments. This follows a letter penned to SHA CEO Andrew Will, signed by health-care workers that cited safety concerns at St. Paul’s Hospital.

SEIU-West President Lisa Zunti at NDP press conference. (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)

SEIU-West President Lisa Zunti, which represents health-care workers, said that while a metal detector has stopped these weapons from entering the hospital, a more comprehensive approach is needed.

Zunti said she expects this trend to worsen with the rise in street drugs and the growing number of patients with complex needs.

Vice President Jason Monteith of SEIU-West echoed Zunti’s comments, stating that while he welcomes metal detectors, more security staff are needed to keep hospitals safe.

“In the last three months, we’ve seen hundreds of images of guns, machetes, (and) knives,” he said.

“Short staffing is a huge challenge, (and) this is affecting our security officers every day.”

Photos released Thursday by the NDP show alcohol, drug paraphernalia and box cutters intercepted by security at a single metal detector location at the Royal University Hospital. (Saskatchewan NDP/Submitted)

Monteith said recruitment and retention remain a top concern in the health-care field, noting many security officers are leaving the profession to pursue careers in law enforcement.

“Health-care workers have actually gone nearly four years without a pay increase and nearly three years without a collective agreement,” he said.

Zunti said pay for security staff plays a major role in retention, noting that security officers start at $22.50 per hour with a pay cap of $24.21 per hour.

She said security officers have told the union, “I’m not going to put myself on the line for this amount of money.”

“That’s a huge part of the reason why there’s so many open lines of security officers and really health care workers in general, we need to see the wages reflected in the job that they’re doing,” she said.