Describing the violence they have faced
GREG JONES Registered practical nurse, Toronto East General Years on the job: 7
“Some days absolutely nothing happens and it’s a lovely day and other days we could have even patients and family members being removed . . . ridiculously angry with us and swearing. “We had a guy who picked up a knife he pulled and was swinging at staff and everyone had to run away.
“I had a gentleman, he said, ‘Hey, I know you. I’m going to murder you.’ ” “(Another) person said they were going to follow me home because I wasn’t taking care of them.”
ANGIE PANOU Registered nurse, Toronto East General, Years on the job: 32
“The nurse who was told by a patient that he’s going to come out and rape her, she brings that up quite often. She lives with it. You can’t get over some kind of a threat that someone is going to come after you. “There are many, many, that don’t go reported. We have so many incidents that if we were to report everything that happens in the department, we’d be running out of time to look after patients. There are more expectations from people.
“Patients want to be seen in a reasonable time that they feel is reasonable for them and I think a lot of the times that’s when the violence comes out.”
LINDA Registered nurse, Toronto East General Years on the job: 27
A nurse in the hospital’s emergency department, Linda said she has been threatened by family members of patients who told her they would track her down at home — which is why she asked that her last name not be published. She said such threats and assaults would result in calls to po- lice and charges if they happened elsewhere, but in hospitals that hardly ever happens. “Some people have . . . looked over their shoulders when they’re going to the car. We’re discouraged by the police to file charges. We’ve been told, ‘Don’t do anything. It won’t go anywhere.’ ”
IRENE ANDRESS Chief nurse executive, Toronto East General Years on the job: 25
Nurses at Toronto East General, like most hospitals, have suffered broken bones, strains, bruising along with the emotional and psychological scars of being targeted, Andress said. Some have even been choked, such as during an incident several months ago. The nurse involved has yet to return to work. There’s a different level of tolerance for violence when it happens in hospitals, Andress said.
“Our bias is toward caring for people,” she said. “The rules might be a bit different, but in its extreme it should not be different. There should be a zero tolerance for that kind of violence anywhere, hospitals included, any health care setting.”
RHONDA BENNETT Vancouver Years on the job: 5 (Pictured below)
“There’s been numerous times that there have been extremely violent outbursts from patients and sometimes from patients’ families. We’ve had a patient try to stab us with a set of scissors, had coffee cups thrown at me, had another patient call for assistance and when I came into the room, they tried to kick me.”
But the most serious incident happened last November when a patient punched Bennett in the face. As she tried to move the man into his bed, he hit her from behind, connecting at her jaw and crushing the bone. She spent the next two months drinking protein shakes and smoothies. She still hasn’t returned to work full time.
“You’ve got family members that will be extremely aggressive, verbally aggressive and sometimes you just never know when you walk into that room what’s going to occur. You wouldn’t want somebody coming into your workplace swearing and yelling and throwing things at you and attempting to assault you. So I don’t think that should be appropriate in the hospital setting either.”