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Both Island hospital sites to have 24/7 security as violent incidents rise

40 percent increase in past year

MANITOULIN—Patient violence toward staff at the two Manitoulin Health Centre locations on Manitoulin Island has seen a dramatic increase in the past year and makes staff feel threatened and unsafe at times.

“Over the past year we have seen a 40 percent increase in verbal and aggressive behaviour incidents from patients toward staff,” said Paula Fields, president and chief executive officer of the MHC in an interview last week. “We don’t want staff to feel threatened when they come to work.”

“There has also been a lot of property damage to both our hospital sites,” said Ms. Fields. Currently, at the Little Current hospital, one window in the emergency room is broken and a lock is broken on the door. 

MHC is in the process of hiring 24/7 security to address the marked increase in reported violence and aggression towards its employees and physicians in the hospitals, said Ms. Fields. “Larger hospitals have the opportunity to have revenue generating activities such as charging for parking that enables them to fund this service. We are globally funded and there is no specific funding. This will cost us approximately $700,000 per year for security services to ensure the safety of our employees, patients and physicians.”

“Unfortunately, there are no local security services trained in use of force; therefore, it will take some time before we are able to have 24/7 security at both sites,” said Ms. Fields. “We are hoping to start with night shifts in the near future.”

Ms. Fields explained the local police services are also experiencing an increase in the number of patients exhibiting violent behaviour that are required to come to the hospital for mental health assessments. Recently, MHC installed signs around the hospitals stating that acts of violence won’t be tolerated. “To date we have invested in enhanced security cameras and personal alarm systems for our employees (where staff have fobs and they can alert IT dispatchers to the police immediately). There are also panic buttons throughout the organization.”

However, it is not enough to protect our employees, said Ms. Fields who said it has also “become a recruitment and retention concern for our frontline employees.”

“The challenge is finding local security companies trained in use of force training, with security guards on hand if a patient is at risk of harming themselves or others. With this training the security guards can help them with toiletry or with medication administration,” said Ms. Fields. “We are diligently working with a couple of companies, with not much success so far.”

Ms. Fields said the MHC is proposing a $2 million capital project to the Ministry of Health to create two true safe rooms at each hospital site. “We have makeshift rooms that are being used, but are not true safe rooms,” she said. “A true safe room is where people are not able to harm themselves or others, where there is indestructible materials and a bathroom and one in which beds are fastened to the ground.” 

“We are aiming for 24/7 security but may only get enough resources for night shift over the next few weeks,” said Ms. Fields. 

Ms. Fields explained, “Capacity issues at our schedule one facility, due to increased volumes at other small sites and at HSN (Health Sciences North) result in MHC being required to keep mental health and addictions patients longer than ever before, sometimes up to a week, prior to being transferred for psychiatric assessment at HSN, our schedule one facility as per the mental health law.”

“Like several small hospitals across the province, MHC faces the challenge of appropriate security services and measures in our facilities,” said Ms. Fields. “Our hospital is doing everything possible to ensure we continue to keep patients, staff and visitors safe when visiting the hospitals.”

“We are also working closely with the Ontario Hospital Association to identify potential solutions to enhance safety and will be engaging government to discuss these opportunities more in detail,” said Ms. Fields. “Especially when we are seeing a shortage of doctors and nurses, this is another level of stress for staff at the hospitals.” 

Article written by

Tom Sasvari
Tom Sasvarihttps://www.manitoulin.com
Tom Sasvari serves as the West Manitoulin news editor for The Expositor. Mr. Sasvari is a graduate of North Bay’s Canadore College School of Journalism and has been employed on Manitoulin Island, at the Manitoulin West Recorder, and now the Manitoulin Expositor, for more than a quarter-century. Mr. Sasvari is also an active community volunteer. His office is in Gore Bay.