Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) says a student nurse is at home recovering after being assaulted by a patient.
The health authority says the VPD arrested the patient after the attack at Vancouver General Hospital Thursday.
Adriane Gear, president of the BC Nurses’ Union, tells CityNews the victim was in her first clinical placement.
“There had been an interaction, and she was struck with a knife,” Gear said.
“Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like the wounds were too severe, but did require medical attention in the emergency department, and I can only speculate that the situation would have been extremely terrifying for her.”
Unfortunately, this incident is by no means a unique situation. Gear says the union conducted a survey last spring to see just how often members were faced with acts of violence, and she says the results are “staggering.”
“For Vancouver Coastal, we had results from members saying that 39 per cent report being exposed to weapons at least monthly,” she said.
“Fifty-nine per cent experience physical violence at least monthly, and 83 per cent experience verbal violence or abuse on a monthly basis.”
What’s even more concerning, she says, is that more than a third of respondents say they are considering leaving the profession because of these issues.
Gear says this is particularly alarming, considering staff retention is difficult even though some hospitals have 320 security guards on-site as part of a security model announced by the provincial government in 2022. These policies are not properly enforced, she says, as weapons are still getting through hospital doors.
“At any given time in this province, we are 6,000 nurses short,” Gear said. “I would boldly say patients likely aren’t safe either.”
In a statement, B.C. Ministry of Health says, in part, that it “wishes those unfortunately injured a full and speedy recovery. Health authorities have policies in place prohibiting weapons and drugs in hospitals, and they will continue working to review policies to continually improve protections for healthcare workers throughout the province.”
Gear is calling on WorkSafe BC and the Provincial Health Authority to address safety concerns in hospital settings and push to install metal detectors at hospital entrances.
“It really shouldn’t be the nurse that is required to enforce such policies,” she said. “That is the role of security and management. Double-duty being a security officer on top of being a nurse is not a reasonable expectation, so there is a lot of work that needs to be done.”
We have reached out to the VPD for more information.
With files from David Nadalini and Angela Bower.
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