Workers under threat
HEALTHCARE staff have been assaulted and abused on the job, forcing to them to take stress leave – but they’re refusing to cop it anymore.
Wonthaggi Hospital staff reported 164 incidents of occupation violence and aggression in the financial years 2016-17 and 2017-18.
Figures have not been tallied up for 2018-19, but are believed to have climbed even higher, with awareness and reporting of events increasing.
“There’s been assaults, with staff being hit, punched and kicked – and staff take stress leave because of what they’ve suffered,” health safety emergency manager Greg Tingate said.
“A lot of violence and aggression has been under-reported. There’s been a public campaign to say, if you come into our healthcare services, you should be respectful of the people who are working in them.
“People have been mindful of what they should do when they come into our spaces, but there’s still more to do.
“We’re going to have people come in and they’re going to swear at us, they’re going to throw something at us, they’re going to abuse us.”
A security guard has been added to the overnight roster, a time when workers are more vulnerable.
Nurse unit manager Jane Ori said it wasn’t just the physical threat but the “psychological effect” that comes in the wake of an attack.
“Especially when you’re dealing with it day after day after day,” Mr Tingate said.
“It’s a constant in your work life and it builds up if you don’t let people know what’s going on for you.”
That’s not to say things are getting worse at the hospital or that Wonthaggi is an abuse hot spot.
Rather, healthcare workers, including those at Wonthaggi, are taking a stance against the abuse.
To this end, the hospital has increased its reporting of such incidents by about 60 per cent during the past two years or more, part of a state-wide push to address the abuse of healthcare workers.
Research prior to the initial WorkSafe ‘It’s Never Okay’ campaign in 2017 indicated that up to 95 percent of healthcare workers reported experiencing violence in their workplace, however estimates suggest that only 20 per cent of violent incidents are reported.
“In other words, occupational violence and aggression had become a normalised part of the role for any healthcare worker,” Mr Tingate said.
But the message to Wonthaggi Hospital staff is clear: being abused by the public is not part of your job description.
Hospital staff are empathetic of the plight of hospital visitors. They know how stressful it can be when patients, friends and family are forced to wait for long periods. They also know stress triggers violence.
Operations manager Kirsten Weinzierl said part of the staff’s training was teaching “them how to deal with different types of aggression”.
Ms Weinzierl said despite reports in the media of drug and alcohol affected people abusing healthcare workers, delirium and dementia are also significant triggers for aggression.
The hospital’s clinical director of emergency services Dan Crompton said “recognition of the escalation” was important. Staff are trained in recognising and defusing stressful situations.
“Until there’s a community response and a community understanding on the impact it’s having on healthcare workers across the board, we can’t change their practices,” he said.
“We can try and improve services in the hospital to deliver care that’s timely and appropriate. But there are times when we do get overwhelmed.”
By comparison, the public hospitals at Korumburra and Leongatha have recorded relatively few incidents of occupation violence and aggression – 16 in total for 2018-19.
The absence of an emergency department, not to mention fewer admissions, is seen as a big factor in the more modest tally.
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