Assaults on clinicians prompts a doubling of security at RAH ED beginning at 6pm Friday
Staff at the embattled Royal Adelaide Hospital emergency department are getting some much needed security backup after a series of assaults.
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Security at the Royal Adelaide Hospital emergency department has been doubled following a series of assaults on clinicians.
A second team of five security guards was rostered on as of 6pm on Friday as clinicians constantly face treating more people than the ED’s official capacity of 69 patients.
They are specially trained to work in the high-pressure ED setting and use “appropriate restraint if required.”
More duress alarms are now available and more mental health workers are being deployed in a bid to protect clinicians and also other patients.
The extra security, which clinicians’ unions had called for, follows multiple terrifying confrontations in recent days, including an incident on Tuesday night where a security guard was knocked out, a nurse suffered shoulder injuries and a doctor needed plastic surgery after an ear was badly torn.
A 23-year-old Kensington Park woman faces three assault charges.
Central Adelaide Local Health Network acting chief executive Kathryn Zeitz said: “A second security team has now commenced in the Royal Adelaide Hospital emergency department.
“The additional security guards have been specifically trained to work in the ED and use appropriate restraint, if required.
“We have also received 20 additional duress alarms for our frontline workers and have mobilised more mental health staff in the ED. The safety of our staff and patients is our highest priority and we will take whatever steps necessary to support them.”
The RAH security boost comes as the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital ED which opened on Wednesday hit code white for the first time after just two days, with clinicians treating more than its official capacity despite having 15 extra beds.
At 2pm on Friday they were treating 46 patients in the 44-capacity ED, with 21 waiting or expected to arrive shortly.
Meanwhile, the nurses union wants mental health nurses to be able to do 12 hour shifts.
The request from the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation to SA Health is due to staff shortages regularly seeing nurses on eight hour shifts being asked to work much longer.
The letter from federation state secretary Elizabeth Dabars requesting the hybrid shifts says: “Due to short staffing or unexpected leave, community mental health nurses often exceed their scheduled 8-hour shifts, resulting in fewer days off for rest and recuperation.
“This extended work without adequate breaks leads to heightened fatigue and dissatisfaction. Implementing 12-hour shifts allows CMH nurses to enjoy more consecutive days off, facilitating better scheduling of personal appointments, quality family time, and self-care activities.
“This balance is crucial for preventing burnout, promoting overall wellbeing, and safeguarding against psychological strain amid the demands of their roles.”
Ms Dabars said staff are often required to work double shifts — meaning some shifts are longer than 12 hours.
As well as additional mental health beds and a separate mental health ED, the federation wants more resources for community mental health services.
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Originally published as Assaults on clinicians prompts a doubling of security at RAH ED beginning at 6pm Friday
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