The emergency department at Middlemore Hospital. Photo / RNZ
By Rowan Quinn of RNZ
Doctors and those working in hospital emergency departments are concerned as the funding for extra security guards ends and it’s unclear where more money will come from.
As part of its 100-day plan, the Government paid for 200 extra guards across some hospitals over summer, but the $5.7 million in funding finished on February 29.
In a statement on Thursday night, Health Minister Shane Reti said December’s initiative addressed an urgent need.
He said Health NZ was “able to reallocate funding between now and 1 July 2024 to sustain an improved security presence”.
The interim plan would mean a “slightly lower level of increase than the summer surge”, he said, but it would provide additional support to frontline staff.
“Further planning will continue.”
But doctors working in EDs said they needed the guards on a regular basis.
Violence and aggression were growing towards doctors, nurses and other emergency department teams, with many fearing for their safety.
The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine New Zealand chair Dr Kate Allan said the success of the guards had been mixed.
In some hospitals they were stationed outside the departments’ front doors, meaning they were slower to react, and some were not trained in deescalating aggression, she said.
“Staff are often having conversations with families and patients before security are involved so it’s not that somebody gets a bit rude and we are calling security. Often we will be trying to de-escalate way earlier in the piece.”
Despite that, the college was “incredibly disappointed” that the funding for the dedicated guards would not continue beyond summer.
Emergency departments tended to be busy year around and the rising aggression was having a “profound impact” on those working there, she said.
Many were choosing to cut their hours to cope, Allan said.
“These people are strong people who are coming to work and they’re getting destroyed by the level of violence and aggression that they are getting exposed to.”
Reti said he had directed Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora to report to him on future options.
But Te Whatu Ora chief of people Andrew Slater said the agency would only be able to decide what to do next once it had formally reviewed the programme.
That review was yet to take place.
“In the meantime, we have a programme of work under way to improve staff safety across our facilities, and we want to assure our staff that this is a high priority for Health NZ,” he said in a written statement.
Slater maintained Te Whatu Ora had good feedback about the extra guards.
- RNZ
It follows concerns about use-of-force powers being given to staff.