University Hospital of Northern B.C. included in Health Minister's plan to hire 320 'protection service officers'
The B.C. government announced Monday a program to help reduce violence against health-care workers at 26 hospitals and mental health facilities across the province, including University Hospital of Northern B.C.
He said the protection service officers will be unionized, government employees rather than provided through private companies and will receive training that "ensures that all security personnel have awareness of patients and their surroundings as well as how to anticipate, de-escalate and ultimately prevent aggression."
Its president, Aman Grewal, said nurses are punched, kicked, grabbed and verbally and sexually harassed at increasingly dangerous workplaces, where injury rates are under-reported and higher than those affecting first responders. The inspector also noted unsecured chairs and unattended metal cutlery out of concern they could be used as weapons.