By ALESHA CAPONE
MEDICAL staff regularly face verbal and physical harassment from patients at hospitals in Sunshine and Footscray, according to a paramedic working in the West.
The news comes as the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) launches a new campaign to stop the increasing violence against hospital staff.
The ANF has called on the State Government to fund $21 million in initiatives to help make hospital staff safer, including additional 24-hour security personnel.
The ANF started their campaign last week after the State Government announced they have given $75,000 in security funding to Western Health across its three hospitals.
At Sunshine Hospital, the funds will be used to to install extra duress alarms in the emergency department, modifiy the behavioural assessment room, upgrade CCTV monitors and enhance waiting room security.
Western Health said they were unable to provide specific data on how many staff had been attacked at Sunshine Hospital and Footscray’s Western Hospital.
However, a paramedic based in the western suburbs who often attends Sunshine Hospital, Western Hospital and the Royal Melbourne Hospital, said medical staff were often subjected to harassment.
“I’ve experienced and witnessed mainly verbal abuse and attempts to assault medical staff,” he said.
“It’s an everyday problem, but I think it is worse at night, and you definitely see a spike on the weekend.”
“We often have to travel with police in the van and that ties up their time and ours, and also police can get held up as they wait at the hospital.
“I’ve seen police called to hospitals because of violent patients, if security guards can’t control them in the emergency department.”
The ambulance officer said the people dishing out the abuse could have mental health problems, be influenced by drugs or alcohol or “just nasty people.”
During 2011-2012, Western Health staff lodged 40 standard WorkCover claims and six ‘notifiable incidents’ – which is where an employee is seriously injured or killed.
Western Health’s OHS, wellbeing and emergency management services director, Steve Parker, said its hospitals had an emergency response plan to ensure violent situations were “managed efficiently and effectively”.
“The primary emergency response is from our specialised and well-trained security team, with additional support where required from the police,” he said.
