Hospital assaults ‘out of control’ says nurse

ONE nurse has described the level of assaults in hospitals as ‘out of control’ and admits there are days where she does not feel safe at work.

The nurse, who wishes to remain anonymous, works in the emergency department of a children’s hospital. She was once shoved by a parent and has received a death threat.

‘It was prevalent before Covid and lockdown but when we came back from the second lockdown, we feel that the level of aggression has increased,’ she said. ‘You’ve six-foot men screaming at you, towering over you, intimidating you, pointing their fingers, calling you names, commenting on your personal appearance, shouting. The level of aggression is out of control.’

In one instance, a woman who was accompanying a child threatened her with violence: ‘She actually said she knew where I parked my car at night time and that when I went to get my car, that she would kill me. She called me names, she invaded my personal space and I just felt so intimidated. There’s just this unspoken rule that you have to put on that brave face. You have to get the job done.’

She said long waiting times in the department cause tensions to heighten.

‘I know if the wait times are long, if they’re over four hours, I’m afraid to make eye contact with people, I’m at the stage where I don’t feel safe in the workplace every day.’

She said assaults are spoken about ‘on a daily basis’ amongst her and her colleagues.

‘It’s an accepted topic, you work in an ED, well, that’s what happens. I don’t think that’s accepted in any other job.