SASKATOON — Provincial health officials and the Opposition have presented differing opinions on how to address growing safety concerns inside Saskatchewan’s health-care facilities, following a series of incidents involving liquor, weapons and other harmful objects that were confiscated amid the introduction of new security measures in major hospitals.
Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill, joined by Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Andrew Will at a media event Thursday at the Saskatoon Cabinet Office, said the government is committed to ensuring health-care workers and patients are safe in facilities across the province.
“We have heard concerns from patients and families of health-care workers about the safety and security of health-care facilities in different communities around the province. I will say that we are listening to these concerns. We've actually been working for several months regarding these concerns,” said Cockrill.
“Today, I'm announcing that the Government of Saskatchewan is ordering an independent review of hospital safety and security across the province. Everyone who walks through the doors of a Saskatchewan health-care facility deserves to feel safe. Every staff member deserves a safe work environment where they feel protected and supported to provide patient care.”
Cockrill added the province is seeing an increase in the frequency of complex issues involving hospital safety and is taking steps to address the challenges and concerns raised by health-care workers, requiring an immediate, comprehensive, system-wide review by an independent body. He did not specify when the review will begin.
The review will take a broader look at hospital protective services, how they operate, and how incidents are handled, and will explore how they can be strengthened while maintaining culturally safe and respectful care environments. Key areas include current protective services, standards, best practices and delivery models, as well as opportunities to improve training, tools and infrastructure.
“The recommendations of this review will be made public, and they'll guide policy, training tools and service delivery to ensure hospitals remain safe for everyone. I want to emphasize that, in launching this review, we are taking steps to enhance security, strengthen hospital safety through the deployment of metal detectors in our urban hospitals and urgent care centres,” Cockrill added.
Will said the SHA, which employs about 3,000 physicians and more than 40,000 health-care staff, is committed to ensuring safety in hospitals and other health-care facilities. He said the authority has invested about $3 million to install metal detectors to enhance screening in urban emergency departments and urgent care centres and to hire 51 new protective services personnel.
Opposition highlights danger
Saskatchewan NDP labour shadow minister Nathaniel Teed, along with SEIU-West President Lisa Zunti and vice-president Jason Monteith, painted a different picture of the current state of hospital safety. They pointed to the number of knives, firearms and other weapons seized at Royal University Hospital, arguing it demonstrates the scale of the problem and that danger remains unaddressed.
Teed said single-entry metal detectors are insufficient, particularly in large hospitals with multiple access points. He accused the government of acting only after hundreds of health-care workers publicly demanded an emergency safety plan, saying frontline staff have raised alarms for years without a meaningful response.
“This was from one metal detector on-site. We can only imagine what items are being brought in through the 14 other entrances at that hospital. St. Paul’s Hospital had hundreds of workers sign a letter to the [SHA] CEO demanding an emergency safety plan after a patient at the hospital, on Nov. 27, was found in possession of a firearm and three knives,” said Teed.
“A frontline health-care worker was directly threatened with one of those knives. My question is this: what took so long? It took hundreds of people bravely stepping forward to speak out before we saw any action. Even then, with a metal detector, we expect the minister to unveil the leader today, which is just one step. We need a comprehensive plan to protect workers and hospital patients.”
Zunti said she is disappointed with how the government has handled safety concerns. While a metal detector is a positive first step, she said it is not the only solution and consultation with health-care workers who face these situations daily must be part of the response, noting the incidents are not new and have been ongoing for years amid rising numbers of patients with complex needs.
