Protection demanded now as nurse assaults spark meeting

Mental health nurses at a meeting to address workplace violence were asked to stand up if they had been assaulted – reportedly everyone did.

Up to 50 staff attended the meeting with Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) chief executive David Meates at Hillmorton Hospital yesterday.

On the same day, health and safety regulator WorkSafe called for its own urgent meeting with the health board after a spate of assaults on nurses at the hospital.

In the space of a week, one nurse suffered serious burns after a mental health patient threw boiling water over her, while another was stabbed in the leg, reportedly with surgical scissors.

Both incidents happened in the adult acute inpatient unit at Hillmorton Hospital, known as Te Awakura. The 64-bed unit has developed a reputation for workplace violence, with a series of wellpublicised assaults.

A WorkSafe spokeswoman said the regulator was seeking an urgent meeting with the CDHB to advise them risk management at Hillmorton was ‘‘not at an acceptable level’’.

The CDHB needed to make immediate improvements as required under the Health and Safety at Work Act, she said.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation organiser John Miller called for urgent action and said the two recent incidents needed to be more than a wake-up call for the CDHB and WorkSafe.

Miller did not attend the nearly threehour long meeting, which was instigated by mental health nurses, but said between 45 and 50 people attended. He said at one point nurses were asked to stand up if they had been assaulted – everyone did.

‘‘We know there have been far too many physical incidents where people have been punched, kicked, scalded and now stabbed. There has to be an immediate response,’’ he said. Miller also called on the Health Minister to imagine working somewhere with the level of violence experienced by staff at Hillmorton, and said he and the Ministry needed to step-up over funding.

Mental health services in Canterbury had been under-pressure for some time, and the increase in acute presentations required modern, safer facilities to be developed and funding, Miller said.

Health Minister David Clark did not address questions about funding or facilities.

Instead, he said he had made his expectation clear to the CDHB that violence towards staff, patients or anyone else was unacceptable, and said the Ministry of

Health was working with the board to minimise the risk to staff at Hillmorton.

Meates said it was distressing to hear about the violence, and described the two recent serious incidents as a tipping point for staff.

‘‘It’s not acceptable for assaults to be occurring, and the challenge we’ve collectively got is how we can continue to deal with patient numbers that are exceeding the footprint of the facilities, and facilities that are not fit-for-purpose.’’

Staff presented a range of options at the meeting, Meates said, including increasing security at the site. Another meeting was being held on Friday, along with an additional two meetings next week.

‘‘It’s fundamental to the care of our consumers that our staff feel safe and supported to do their jobs,’’ he said, adding it was important staff felt they were able to voice their concerns and be listened to.

Meates also confirmed he was meeting with WorkSafe on Thursday, and said the nurse who was stabbed on Sunday had been discharged from hospital.

Nurses and the NZNO have criticised WorkSafe for failing to investigate previous incidents at Hillmorton. The regulator has not carried out any formal investigations under health and safety legislation at the hospital this year. A spokeswoman said the primary duty of care lay with the CDHB. She said workers and WorkSafe had raised issues with them, and it was the responsibility of the health board to respond and protect its staff.

The CDHB and the NZNO are working on a joint project to make the inpatient unit safer. Meates said on Sunday a number of changes had been made, and the CDHB would continue to work with the union.

The patient who stabbed a nurse at Hillmorton Hospital was trying to harm himself, police say.

The 42-year-old man was remanded in custody on the charge of injuring with intent to injure after the incident on Sunday.

Police have laid an unusual charge of ‘‘transferred malice’’, alleging the patient was trying to injure himself when he injured the nurse.

The man entered no plea to the charge when he appeared before Judge Tom Gilbert in the Christchurch District Court on Monday.

The judge was given a report from the psychiatric nurse who works at the courts, who had seen the man ahead of his appearance. At the request of duty lawyer Cindy Lee, the judge granted an interim order for name suppression, and remanded him to December 17 in custody to Hillmorton Hospital for a psychiatric report to be prepared.