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B.C. nurses vow to take patient violence to court

B.C. nurses vow to take patient violence to court

Violence against nurses and other health-care workers by patients is a serious problem but the B.C. Nurses’ Union, tired of waiting for health officials to deal with it, is taking unilateral steps to protect its members.

The 42,000-member union announced Tuesday it will pursue legal action on behalf of any nurse who authorizes it, including pressing charges against the attacker.

The union, which is holding its annual convention in Vancouver this week, says it has also set up a 24-hour toll-free hotline for nurses to report abuse.

Union president Gayle Duteil told CKNW’s Simi Sara Show that nurses are often expected to shake off the slaps, punches and scratches they get from unruly or mentally disturbed patients.

"Nurse managers are often, ‘well you just have to get used to it.’ It’s an expectation of the job," she told the radio open-line host.

Duteil said 55 per cent of workplace violence claims filed with WorkSafe BC involve health-care workers, a figure she believes underestimates the size of the problem.

“We say that’s an under-reporting because certainly nurses have the propensity to kind of brush things off; oh well, they didn’t mean it,” she said.

The problem is endemic in the Canadian health-care system, especially in psychiatric facilities. Last December, a nurse at a Kamloops hospital’s psychiatric unit was punched and tossed around just days after a psychologist at a Pentiction facility had his jaw broken while interviewing a patient.

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Nurse attacked in Kamloops hospital

But the problems are no longer limited to mental health units, Duteil said. She’s hearing of more violence at long-term care facilities that house residents with dementia.

Only the most extreme cases are reported to police, Duteil added. So-called minor incidents are not.

“Nurses are discouraged against informing the authorities,” she said.

U.S. states have strong laws against assaulting nurses

The situation contrasts with many U.S. states, which have strengthened criminal penalties for assaulting nurses. For example, said Duteil, attacking a nurse in New York is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The union has had discussions with the B.C. government and the regional health authorities that run medical facilities.

"We just have not seen changes or concrete solutions," said Duteil.

Regional health authorities responsible for Metro Vancouver and the B.C. Interior contacted by Yahoo Canada News deferred comment to the provincial Health Ministry.

B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake, speaking Tuesday to reporters at the legislature in Victoria, said the government believes workplace safety is extremely important and conceded nurses, who have the closest regular contact with patients, can end up being targeted.

"When people are ill, whether they have physical ailments or mental illness, they can react in a surprising way that can be violent," Lake said in a transcript of his comments provided to Yahoo Canada News by his ministry’s media relations office.

Lake said local health authorities have programs to reduce violence and provide training to de-escalate situations.

"But at the end of the day if someone is assaulted, then often I think it’s appropriate to have that looked at if there’s criminal behaviour involved," he said.

But the mental state of the patient often makes that challenge, Lake added.

"When you’re dealing with mental illness, often there’s a lack of awareness on the part of the patient," he said.

"I think, of course, that would be up to the courts to decide what’s appropriate in terms of people’s culpability, whether they are aware of what they’re doing. But we want to work with nurses and other health-care professionals to reduce the level of potential violence in the workplace."

Health ministry points to violence-prevention programs

Lake’s office pointed to a $37-million health and safety initiative launched in 2011 that includes a violence-prevention education program for health-care workers and their managers to teach them how to prevent, defuse or deal with potentially violent situations.

"Early evaluations from the initial 17 sites the program was piloted at show a close to a 40 per cent decrease in WSBC [WorkSafe BC] claims costs for injuries related to incidences of violence at those sites," the ministry said via email. "The program is now implemented provincially."

The last round of contract bargaining with health unions also resulted in creation of an occupational health, safety and violence-prevention committee whose tasks include updating the system’s anti-violence programs. Health authorities are also required to assess the risk of violence and aggression in their facilities and ensure requisite safety plans are in place, the ministry said.

"Our efforts to reduce incidents of violence appear to be paying off," ministry’s statement said. "Over the last three years, we’ve seen the number of code whites [indicating a violent incident] dropping from 4,307 to 3,749 – despite health authorities treating more and more patients each year."

Duteil said the union had a commitment from the ministry as late as Monday to look at the issue. She said more discussions are planned with the province and local health authorities.