More assaults on hospital security guards

Union takes aim at DHBs and its security provider after string of assaults leave security guards severely injured and off work.

A fourth assault on a hospital security guard in 2019 has raised the alarm over the health and safety of security guards at the Waikato and Canterbury DHBs. The latest assault – the fourth serious assault this year – involved a security guard attacked in the Emergency Department at Christchurch Hospital on Queen’s Birthday.

The assault, which left the officer with a broken wrist, occurred just weeks after an earlier serious attack on a security guard member at Waikato Hospital. That guard was beaten by a patient wielding an oxygen tank after she stepped in to protect nursing staff, receiving multiple injuries to her head, face and body.

Another two guards remain off work after serious assaults at Hillmorton and Christchurch Hospitals. The Hillmorton incident resulted in a guard being severely beaten and requiring several months off work, while in the Christchurch Hospital attack a guard was king hit without warning.

Waikato Hospital, Hamilton.

E tū Union’s Christchurch Senior organiser Ian Hodgetts says the string of assaults since Christmas is alarming, he said hospitals needed more security and better security training. “We are absolutely concerned about such a series of vicious unprovoked attacks on our members, who are simply doing their job,” he says.

But media reports have suggested that it’s not just security personnel being assaulted in hospitals. According to stuff.co.nz, records obtained under the Official Information Act show 868 incidents of verbal abuse or physical assaults against Waikato DHB staff in 2017 - up from 690 in 2016. Other DHBs have also recorded significant assault statistics.

Hospital work has particular challenges, such as unpredictable patients or people who accompany patients at the emergency department, NZSA CEO Gary Morrison told Stuff.co.nz following the Waikato Hospital incident.

E tū Campaign Lead, Mat Danaher claims that the series of assaults on guards at DHBs has highlighted serious issues with the outsourcing of security services. “I would hope these [Canterbury and Waikato] DHBs, and DHBs nationally, are taking a serious look at who provides their security, and whether the services are fit for purpose,” he said.

According to Mr Danaher, many DHBs employ their security guards in-house, which is a model the union supports.

E tū claims that Waikato DHB security contractor Allied Security has consistently failed in its obligation to protect its security guards from harm. According to E tū organiser Iriaka Rauhihi, under-staffing and working weeks in excess of 60 hours are common.

“Our members tell us they’re really tired, over-worked and fed-up. It’s about this employer not putting in the resources and staffing to keep people safe, especially in high-risk areas like Henry Bennett and the Emergency Department.”

She says the DHB also has to accept that it too has a duty to ensure a safe working environment. “We’re calling on the DHB to intervene to ensure the contractor is keeping its workers safe, because at the moment the guards don’t feel safe. They feel overworked and at risk.”