| Hamiota nurses get alarms |
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Nurses at Hamiota Health Centre will be the first to have personal panic alarms installed at their facility.
Staff safety at this health facility became a priority after two nurses were confronted by a male patient in March. One nurse was physically assaulted with an unidentified weapon, and both nurses were locked in a room. The devices are expected to be installed early this month prior to the new health and workplace safety regulations that come into effect on August 31, 2011. MNU has been working with the provincial government on developing a violence free workplace strategy and made several recommendations to improve safety for health workers. These recommendations will soon be implemented. In addition to these recommendations, MNU President Sandi Mowat will be co-chairing an advisory committee on staff safety and security in health facilities, which will create a permanent ongoing process to review workplace security issues broadly in health care. The committee will also monitor the implementation of violence prevention programs, incident investigation, tracking and follow-up as well as identifying new initiatives to strengthen safety and security for all health workers. |
