Surrey hospital stabbing renews calls for increased safety

A stabbing inside Surrey Memorial Hospital is prompting the BC Nurses Union (BCNU) to renew calls for increased safety in these settings.

BCNU President Aman Grewal says the situation that left a man and a teen hurt Saturday is “extremely concerning.”

“To be working in a healthcare facility and to be victim to this, even visually, that is traumatic to our nurses,” she told CityNews.

“(For) our nurses who witnessed it, the other patients that were present that witnessed this, and the other staff that were there that witnessed this, this is very traumatizing and this is part of why we have been calling for increased security measures in healthcare settings to protect the patients, as well as nurses and all the other healthcare workers that are on-site.”

Read more: ‘Unprovoked’ Surrey hospital stabbing leaves teen, dad hurt; charges laid

Just before 10:30 p.m. Saturday, a 51-year-old and a 16-year-old “from the same family” sustained non-life-threatening injuries after they were stabbed inside the hospital, the RCMP confirmed Monday.

Sources within the hospital confirmed the incident to CityNews over the weekend. In an update Monday, the RCMP said the suspect and victims did not appear to know each other, describing the situation as an “unprovoked assault.” The suspect was arrested and subsequently charged.

“The security that was on-site at the hospital — they acted quickly and they intervened and potentially prevented the injuries from being worse or additional parties from being injured,” Surrey RCMP Corp. Vanessa Munn told CityNews in an interview Monday morning.

Grewal says this stabbing is a reminder of some of the scenarios nurses and other healthcare workers are exposed to on a regular basis.

As a starting point, Grewal says the promised 320 protection services officers are needed sooner than later.

“It’s a matter of hiring and training these people up and then getting them into the system. If they’re saying that they plan to have them fully integrated by September, we’d like to see maybe that sped up a little now,” she explained, noting staff who are hired need adequate training to be able to support in times of need.

“People should be able to feel safe wherever they are, especially in a healthcare facility such as a hospital. Our doctors, nurses, and health professionals, and patients that go into those facilities expect to feel safe and they’re not feeling that.”

The province said last fall the additional in-house protection service officers would receive training in workplace violence prevention, mental health, and advanced customer service, in addition to other areas and skillsets. They would be deployed at 26 different sites in the province.

Out of the 320 officers, Fraser Health says in a statement the health region will be receiving 95 officers.

“We are working with the Ministry of Health and other B.C. health authorities in finalizing the training and education curriculum for the new officers. The training will emphasize staff and patient safety through a trauma informed perspective and greater integration with clinical staff,” the statement reads.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a news conference Monday that emergency room pressures aren’t new, and work is being done to help support doctors.

“At Surrey Memorial Hospital, which is 625 base beds, there’s 647 people in the hospital a day,” he said. “But people working in those circumstances face challenges. I wish the previous government built a second hospital in Surrey, they chose not to do that, [and] we’re building it now. In the meantime, we’re doing the work with our doctors in Surrey, with our doctors in Langley.”

“We’ve been having detailed meetings about this in the last week. So not ignoring it, addressing it, and addressing it with our doctors.”

Related articles: 

• Concerns over public safety spark debate in B.C. Legislature

• BC Nurses’ Union wants metal detectors, safety screenings at hospitals

• ‘Punched, kicked, sexually harassed’: BC to hire 320 security guards to address hospital violence

Beyond speeding up the hiring process, Grewal says she feels even more security personnel are needed.

“We need them everywhere, 24/7,” she said. “That 320 is not sufficient for the sites, we have much more than that. But at least get those running and start up the next process.”

Amid growing concerns from members, in November, the BCNU called for metal detectors to be installed at the entrances to healthcare facilities across the province. At the time, Grewal acknowledged this was not an ideal ask, but added she felt it has become necessary.

With files from Emily Marsten