3 relational security guards tell CBC News they've being punched, kicked, spat on.
It's been nearly two years since the province created a new class of
hospital security guard, relational security officers or RSOs, in
response to high-profile assaults against nurses and health care staff.
Different from a typical security guard, the province says the new position focuses on trauma-informed training and de-escalation and prevention.
But
new data obtained by CBC News shows the employees meant to keep
hospitals safe are themselves being injured at an alarming rate.
WorkSafeBC
data for accepted short and long-term disability claims by hospital
security guards show nearly 170 accepted injury claims last year.
At
that rate, it means security guards meant to protect health-care staff
and patients from violence are being injured nearly every other day.
Accepted injury claims were highest in Fraser and Providence Health:
50 accepted claims in Fraser Health, 46 in Providence Health.
Security
guards in Interior Health were off work due to injury 27 times, 22
times in Vancouver Coastal Health. There were 20 accepted injury claims
in Island Health.
Three relational security guards who work in
Lower Mainland hospitals spoke to CBC News, describing the injuries
they've experienced on a regular basis, which have led to
WorkSafeBC claims, time off work and physical and emotional injuries.
CBC News is protecting their identities and workplaces because they're worried about punishment for speaking out.
"I've
scratched up my knee. I've broken skin," one security officer told CBC
News. "Being spat on, being headbutted, being bitten by violent
patients."
His job is to keep nurses, doctors and patients safe
inside B.C. hospitals. But he says that the job often puts him and his
colleagues at risk. And the three officers say they're not being given
the training or the tools to keep themselves safe.
Most hospitals use a mix of RSOs — who are unionized health authority employees — and private security guards.
The injury rates are a concern for the Hospital Employees' Union (HEU), which represents the province's 750 RSOs.
"It's
concerning. That could be the tip of the iceberg," says Lynn Bueckert,
secretary business manager for the HEU. "Not all workers report for a
whole bunch of reasons."
The three RSOs who spoke to CBC say the
health authorities are placing limits on the tools and de-escalation
techniques they can use when someone becomes violent.
For example, RSOs working in Fraser Health and Providence Health are
not allowed to use handcuffs to restrain a violent individual.
Those who spoke to CBC News say that puts them at further risk of injury as they try to hold someone until police arrive.
"Sometimes
we have to call the police to help us restrain them because they're so
violent and we're being assaulted," one security officer said.
"When
it comes time to actually dealing with violence, dealing with assaults
on staff, dealing with threats and property damage, we don't have the
tools to take care of the problem effectively. I feel that we're social
workers that carry a radio and a set of keys."
Critic wants peace officers
B.C.
Conservative public safety critic Elenore Sturko says the injury rates
should be a wake-up call that the current system is not working.
"Seeing
the number of injury claims that have been reported to WorkSafe by RSOs
is further confirmation that they are not adequately trained to deal
with the level of violence they are seeing in the workplace," she said.
Sturko would like to see the province employ peace officers in
hospitals. They'd be equipped with a firearm, Taser and handcuffs and
undergo an intensive training course of between six and 15 weeks,
depending on the equipment they're given. This would be similar to the
level of training provided to transit police.
That's the system that exists in Alberta hospitals.
There,
protective services officers must complete a six-week training course,
which is similar to that provided to correctional officers or sheriffs.
The union echoes the call for better training and higher staffing levels.
"We know from talking to our members they need more training … in de-escalation," Bueckert said. "They also need more staffing."
However, the union does not support putting peace officers in hospitals.
"Relational
security guards are not protecting buildings, they're protecting
people. And people come into health care with very challenging
needs," Bueckert said.
Fraser Health says in a statement RSOs
undergo rigorous training, which is tailored to the complex needs of the
health-care environment.
The health authority says it is
reviewing its policy on security teams' use of handcuffs and expects
officers to be able to use them in the coming months.
Health Minister Josie Osborne was not available for an interview, but
the Health Ministry says it is looking into other tools to make
hospitals safer, such as using artificial intelligence to detect weapons
in emergency rooms — something that's been done in other Canadian
hospitals.
For the relational security guard who spoke to CBC News, the changes can't come fast enough.
"I
hope there's some sort of acknowledgment that what we have right now,
it's not working as it's intended. We're just seen as a group of people
who are called upon to get abused, to bear the brunt of the violence
that goes on, so no one else has to."