Hospitals are no place for violence
Re Ontario group to tackle growing violence in hospitals, Aug. 17 It was with great sadness that I read your article regarding workplace violence in hospitals across Ontario, and the stark reality that incidents of violence have doubled in the last year.
It was with equal sadness, and not a small amount of disgust, that I read some readers’ online comments in response. It seems that to some people violence against front-line health-care workers is an acceptable response to what they deem inadequate care.
Physicians and nurses are under-supported and resources are scarce. Long wait times and lack of access to a ward bed are neither acceptable reasons for violence, nor are they the cause of violence in health-care settings, as one reader claims. Emergency departments see a large volume of patients with mental illness and substance abuse issues. They have little support in the community, and are often brought to the hospital under duress.
In-patient populations consist of greater proportions of demented and delirious patients, who unfortunately have a tendency toward unintentional violence when they perceive they are threatened. Hospital security is not equipped to deal with potentially dangerous individuals.
Front-line health-care workers are doing their best to care for you and your loved ones. No one should have to endure physical or verbal abuse at their place of employment, regardless of the perceived shortcomings of the health-care system. People who believe they are waiting too long to see a specialist or in the emergency department should ask themselves whether there may not be someone sicker ahead of them in line.
Instead of writing nasty comments to the Star about how long you had to wait in the emergency department for your last viral illness, perhaps readers should be writing to Dr. Eric Hoskins, the Ontario minister of health, regarding the Liberal government’s plans to make it more difficult to see your family doctor in the coming years. Dr. Colin Blair Meyer-Macaulay, pediatrics, B.C. Children’s Hospital, University of B.C.