SA hospital violence sparks ANMF call for restraint-trained guards

Staff in South Australia’s critical regional hospitals say they’ve been left alone and vulnerable to deal with terrifying behaviour.

Harrowing stories of violence and aggression towards staff at regional nurses and healthcare workers has sparked a new campaign to implement security guards across rural SA hospitals.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation’s SA branch is demanding authorities implement restraint-trained security guards at Berri and Murray Bridge hospitals.

It comes after the federation reported “overwhelming community support” for the introduction of restraint-trained security guards in regional hospitals at Port Pirie and Wallaroo.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (SA Branch) is demanding health authorities implement restraint-trained security guards at Berri and Murray Bridge hospitals, after staff members admitted they felt “alone and vulnerable” to ongoing verbal and physical attacks.

The federation claims staff members have felt “alone and vulnerable” to ongoing verbal and physical attacks with staff having projectiles thrown at them, been spat at, kicked and threatened with violence.

According to the ANMF, an incident at Riverland General Hospital saw a nurse forced to text a colleague in another ward asking them to call the police after the staff member said an aggressive patient “threatened to track me down in town and kill me”.

Police took 20 minutes to arrive.

On another occasion, a patient who was detained under an Inpatient Treatment Order became violent at 3am, smashing the window of his room and running into the courtyard from which he was unable to escape.

The ANMF also reported incidents of violence and aggression at the Murray Bridge Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, including where a nurse was assaulted with an oxygen cylinder after an aggressive patient barged into the nurses’ station.

He was only stopped as a visitor managed to intervene and disarm the man.

ANMF SA branch chief executive officer Professor Elizabeth Dabars said healthcare workers in regional hospitals should be free to focus on the health and wellbeing of their patients.

“(Workers should not be) not worrying about what will happen when the next terrifying incident of violence and aggression occurs,” Ms Dabars said.

ANMF SA branch chief executive officer Professor Elizabeth Dabars. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

“The safety of nurses and midwives and the broader community is paramount and the implementation of 24-7 restraint trained security guards at Riverland General Hospital should be a no-brainer.”

Professor Elizabeth Dabars said the use of 24/7 security guards at Whyalla and Port Augusta hospitals in 2021 had been a huge success.

A June 2022 review into the implementation guards at Whyalla and Port Augusta hospitals found a 52 per cent decrease in reports of staff being “hit by a moving object or person since the introduction of guards.

It also reported a 62.5 per cent decrease in incidents resulting in an injury to a worker and a 23 per cent decrease in workers reporting mental stress due to “challenging behaviours”.

SA Health has been contacted for comment.