Another St. Joe’s assault
Nurse safety is a priority: president
Police have confirmed they’re investigating another assault at the West 5th campus of St. Joseph’s Healthcare.
It’s the fifth reported case of assault or aggression against St. Joe’s nurses over the past 10 days.
“My reaction is: violence is not part of RNs’ jobs. St. Joe’s is going to have to do more than pay lip service to provide us a safe work environment,” said Linda HaslamStroud, president of the Ontario Nurses’ Association.
Police are in the early stages of a probe into the latest assault, which happened Wednesday at the Mountain psychiatric facility, said Staff Sgt. Maggie Schoen.
Dr. David Higgins, president of St. Joseph’s hospital, said staff called police and the hospital is cooperating with the investigation.
While Higgins says safety of the nurses is the priority in these situations, he stressed the behaviour of the patients “is sometimes unpredictable.”
“We have a duty to care for these people that have serious illnesses.”
Higgins says he doesn’t believe funding cuts or understaffing factored into any of the assaults.
But Dominic DiPasquale, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 786 — which represents St. Joe’s registered practical nurses — says unionized security guards at the St. Joseph’s Charlton site are well trained to deal with such assaults.
Their non-unionized counterparts at West 5th don’t receive the same level of training, specifically de-escalation techniques, DiPasquale said.
“The employer is talking the talk, but they’re not yet walking the walk,” he said. “Have I seen preventive measures? At this point in time, no.”
Higgins said the training of West 5th security guards, whose “performance is monitored closely,” isn’t a concern.
Instead, the hospital is looking to improve processes and policies, he said.
“We try to learn from each situation and try to improve our procedures continuously,” Higgins said. “I fully agree that having staff exposed to violence is never ideal.”
Retired registered nurse Lisa Yanch says she has been told two female nurses were hurt in Wednesday’s lunchtime assault in a medium-security forensic unit.
When one was being assaulted, the second stepped in to help and was assaulted, as well. One’s head was banged against the ground, she said.
Those involved are reluctant to speak out because of fear of reprisals, Yanch said.
Yanch retired from St. Joe’s in 2013 after 35 years working in psychiatric care.
She stresses she left on good terms and does not have an axe to grind with the hospital.
“My only concern is for the people that work there — my co-workers.”
Haslam-Stroud confirmed details of the incident.
On Dec. 16, two West 5th nurses suffered concussions after being repeatedly punched in the head.
One nurse was left unconscious. Both were taken by ambulance for emergency treatment.
Police charged a 22-year-old patient in connection with the assault and the Ministry of Labour is investigating.
The ministry has ordered the hospital to conduct a risk assessment for certain workers who may be exposed to potential workplace violence and to provide copies of the risk assessment to the hospital’s joint health and safety committee.
Ministry spokesperson Janet Deline said an inspector has been assigned to the most recent assault.
In October, following a complaint, the ministry also ordered the hospital to develop, establish and provide training on measures and procedures pertaining to seclusion rooms, Deline noted.
Haslam-Stroud says she’s aware of three other violent incidents involving St. Joe’s nurses in the past while.
On Dec. 21, a West 5th patient out on a day pass was able to buy a gun with the help of a family member but couldn’t purchase ammunition. Haslam-Stroud said the patient has threatened to kill a nurse and threatened other staff. Police arrested the patient.
On Dec. 22, a nurse at the Charlton site was hit over the head by a patient with a leather bag. Police weren’t called.
On Dec. 24, police were summoned to the Charlton site after a patient became aggressive “and took out lights, drywall and electrical.” A 34-year-old man was charged with mischief over $5,000 and failing to comply with probation.