NORTHERN Hospital nurses face daily verbal abuse, have been physically assaulted and threatened, and had bodily fluids thrown at them, according to the nurses union.
Australian Nursing Federation Victorian branch secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said the reported violence against nurses in Victorian hospitals was “the tip of the iceberg”.
“We are aware that managers in some hospitals are discouraging nurses and midwives to report formally incidents,” Ms Fitzpatrick said.
The state government last month announced it would provide $25,000 towards staff safety at Northern Hospital as part of $1 million in statewide security upgrades at 40 hospitals.
But Ms Fitzpatrick said the latest round of funding went “nowhere near” delivering the state government’s $21 million security package election promise to stop the violence in hospitals.
Ms Fitzpatrick said the state government had failed to implement 39 recommendations from a 2011 parliamentary inquiry into violence and security in Victorian hospitals.
“There is a growing sense of frustration among nurses and midwives at the lengthy and bureaucratic response to the urgent problem of growing violence in hospitals,” she said.
The Northern Hospital emergency department is the busiest in Victoria, with 1300 patients treated each week.
There were 236 code grey alerts and 23 planned code grey alerts at Northern Hospital from January 1 to April 30 this year.
A code grey alert indicates a “hospital-wide internal security response” to aggressive behaviour, and planned code grey indicates there is the potential for aggressive behaviour.
A code black indicates a security response to actual or potential aggression involving a weapon, or serious threat to personal safety.
There were no code black alerts at Northern Hospital from January to April 2013. The state government funds will be used to install fixed duress alarms in “higher-risk areas” at Northern Hospital.
Security systems will be updated and secure emergency department access will be improved to keep nurses, doctors and health care staff safe from “the potential or threat of violence”.
Newly appointed Northern Health chief executive Janet Compton said the safety of hospital staff, patients and visitors was “paramount”.
Northern Health security guards patrol the hospital at all times. Security staff are trained to “react to a variety of situations” and will provide immediate assistance to people in need.
Ms Compton said additional emergency room CCTV cameras would “complement the security cameras and other security features”.
The hospital is also in the initial stages of building a $24.48 million emergency department redevelopment.
