Security upped at hospital
Security has been ramped up at Taranaki Base Hospital after an increase in assaults against staff, including punching, kicking, biting, and spitting.
Taranaki District Health Board’s Anne Kemp said incidents, including verbal abuse, threats and assaults, had been escalating for the past year.
‘‘We have a growing problem around inappropriate, aggressive behaviour.’’
The most recent TDHB figures from the July to September 2018 quarter show there were 46 aggressive incidents towards staff, 24 of them in mental health where 15 assaults took place.
This includes the September assault of five staff at the mental health ward, Te Puna Waiora, which resulted in a man being charged with five counts of injures with intent to injure.
He has pleaded not guilty and has elected trial by jury.
Since October a security guard has been on the mental health ward 24/7 and a guard has been based at the emergency department (ED) for 12 hours a day between noon and midnight.
Prior to this one guard worked from 7pm to 7am, seven days a week – a service still in place.
In the past six months the TDHB has spent more than $250,000 on security including guards, facilities, infrastructure and training/education, Kemp said. While the ‘‘hotspots’’ are mental health and ED, there were also incidents of aggressive behaviour from visitors in maternity and child health, she said.
The TDHB would not discuss specific incidents but Kemp said the type of physical incidents recorded varied from throwing objects and liquids to striking and slapping.
Verbal abuse was quite common and sometimes staff thought it was part and parcel of the job, Kemp said. ‘‘It’s not. We need to help staff to report them.’’
Kemp said aggressive behaviour and physical assault incidents in healthcare were on the rise here and overseas.
‘‘The safety and wellbeing of staff and patients is paramount to Taranaki DHB and we continue to be committed to minimising security and safety risks for staff, patients and the community.’’
Last year, TDHB launched a programme with a focus on security for its 1900 staff, including for those who work in Ha¯ wera, at the Stratford Medical Centre and in the community, Kemp said.
‘‘Support of staff involved in these types of incidents is of paramount importance to us and includes access to occupational health follow up, post incident counselling and the DHB’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), incident review/investigation and support to staff if they wish to lay charges with the police against patients who seriously abuse, threaten or assault them while they are carrying out DHB business.’’
Kemp said in the United Kingdom health boards were better at holding people accountable.
‘‘On the whole we don’t take people to court for their behaviour . . . I guess we need to think about how we support staff if that’s what they decided to do.’’