Safety boost for health services

Health services across the Wimmera will benefit from State Government plans to reduce and prevent violence.

The government has announced the second round of its $20-million Health Service Violence Prevention Fund, designed to help organisations install safety and security measures.

Member for Western Victoria and Regional Development Minister Jaala Pulford said health services in Horsham, Rainbow, Ararat, Stawell, Jeparit, Nhill, Warracknabeal, Kaniva, Donald and Rupanyup had secured money.

She said hospitals and mental-health services across the state would see significant safety and security upgrades, including additional CCTV, more personal duress devices and alarms, and new infrastructure such as security doors, windows and restricted access areas.

The grants include: • $19,600 for Wimmera Health Care Group Horsham to install swipe-card access to six access points to the intensive care unit. • $126,000 for East Grampians Health Service Ararat for an Ip-based CCTV camera system for an acute inpatient unit and surrounding areas as well as increased capacity for image storage and back up. • $20,993 for Stawell Regional Health for toughened glass and additional doors to provide greater staff security and reduce incidents of occupational violence at key entry points. • $403,900 for West Wimmera Health Service to increase security at its acute admission areas and improve internal and external recorded video surveillance at its Jeparit, Rainbow, Kaniva, Nhill and Rupanyup campuses. • $55,718 for East Wimmera Health Service to install automatic outer and inner doors to the after hours and ambulance entry as well as updated lighting, signs, floor coverings, duress alarm and a new safe exit. • $4127 for Rural Northwest Health at Warracknabeal for minor works to improve security at the main counter.

“I’m really pleased that we have committed more than $630,000 to help improve safety at various Wimmera health services,” Ms Pulford said.

“These sort of projects build on the success of the first round of funding and continue to deliver on the Labor government’s election promise to reduce violence at hospitals and mental-health services by improving facilities and making them safer for staff, patients and visitors.

“Western Victoria has an incredibly dedicated health and mental-health workforce who deserve to feel safe and protected in the important work that they do. I have zero tolerance for violence or aggression of any kind against our hard-working doctors, nurses and paramedics.”

The Victorian Auditor-general’s Report into Occupational Health Violence Against Healthcare Workers found nurses, doctors, paramedics and other healthcare workers faced particular risks because ‘they are at the frontline when it comes to dealing with people in stressful, unpredictable and potentially volatile situations’.

Ms Pulford said the government was also funding a new public awareness campaign to reduce violence in Victorian.