‘Sends a message’: Union critical of nurse assault, aftermath

The Manitoba Nurses Union calls for more safety measures in the province’s emergency rooms following an assault. Danton Unger explains.

The union representing Manitoba nurses is calling on the province to improve safety in emergency rooms after a patiently who allegedly assaulted a nurse in a hospital waiting room was then fast-tracked to receive care.

Winnipeg police say the alleged assault happened on March 26 in the Grace Hospital emergency department. According to officers, a patient who was upset with the amount of time they had been waiting in the ER assaulted a nurse.

The patient was later arrested and is facing an assault charge, police say.

Manitoba Nurses Union President Darlene Jackson said the nurse was upset, but she said what happened after was more upsetting.

“(The nurses) were then directed to fast-track the patient through the department to have them seen and discharged,” she said.

Jackson believes it sends the message that it’s okay to assault a nurse because you will get seen by a doctor quicker.

A Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WHRA) spokesperson said in a statement that they take all incidents of violence “very seriously.”

“In this most recent incident at Grace Hospital, security restrained the patient after the initial attack to prevent continuation of the assault.” the statement said in part.

The WRHA said there is a balancing act to address patient safety and fulfilling the ethical and legal duty to provide care for patients.

“A process is being used to ensure some patients who are known to have aggressive behavior are provided care in a way that limits the amount of time they spend in our facilities while still receiving the appropriate level of care for their medical needs,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said it’s unacceptable that nursing staff are the target of assaults at work, but says people are not being “fast-tracked” for care.

“There are protocols that have been developed to make sure that patients and staff are safe and secure,” they said, but didn’t elaborate on specific details of the protocols.

“The protocols make clear that if there’s a safety or security threat identified, that there are steps taken to address that, to make sure that people are able to provide care and receive care safely.”

This comes after the city reported the highest ER and urgent care wait times since December 2023. Patients waited an average of 3.97 hours in February, up from 3.58 hours this time last year.

“A lot of the violence is related to the wait times,” Jackson said.

The province said they are working to reduce them by adding more nurses, beds, and reopening the emergency department at Victoria Hospital.

“We’re doing work to make sure that people have more access to care,” Asagwara said.

They added there are more than 100 safety officers in facilities across the province, including hospitals. Grace Hospital does not current have safety officers according to the WRHA but does have trained security guards.

- With files from CTV’s Danton Unger