Summary
Hospital staff, like any other workers, deserve to get on with their work without being abused or assaulted.
April is Occupational Violence Prevention and Awareness Month, a perfect opportunity to appeal to members of the community to treat hospital staff with respect.
Allison Cassidy, General Manager of Rockhampton, Capricorn Coast and Mt Morgan, said Central Queensland Health had zero tolerance for violence or abuse towards its people, and to patients and consumers.
“Our aim is to create a safe workplace for our dedicated health professionals, and for the people who use our service.
“In the first quarter of this year there have been 944 code blacks (threatening situations) called at Rockhampton Hospital, that’s an average of 10 a day,” she said.
Code blacks can range from serious with police response, restraint, down to de-escalation and false alarms.
Cory Ricks is one of 24 Fire Safety and Security Officers at Rockhampton who work hard all-day, every day to keep our staff, patients, and visitors safe.
He says the presence of a Fire Safety and Security Officer is often enough to stop a situation from escalating.
“We are well trained at reading situations, and our main objective is to let the clinical teams get on with their job safely.
“Their prime objective is to help people, and it is simply unacceptable that they are subjected to abuse and even violence, from the very people they’re trying to help.”
Cory says people affected by drugs and alcohol were the main offenders with aggressive behaviour, and at a last resort, security officers will use restraint.
“It’s not just our staff, but other patients who are impacted by this behaviour.”
Closed-circuit TV is in place across Rockhampton Hospital, and security officers work closely with Queensland Police Service to ensure offenders are prosecuted.