Nurses and front line staff who work at Boundary District Hospital in Grand Forks were traumatized after a man walked into the emergency room last Thursday evening, pulled out a gun and shot himself.
British Columbia Nurses Union President Gayle Duteil says while nurses and staff acted quickly and professionally during the frightening incident, it highlights the growing concern of violence and weapons in emergency rooms around the province.
“Our information tells us that this man entered the hospital through the ambulance bay, which is in the back of the hospital, and didn’t say anything before he shot himself. There wasn’t a lot of forewarning and staff were caught off guard. Of course they are extremely distraught as a result.
Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is nothing protecting our members and other front line staff from this sort of violence. The fear is the problem is only going to get worse.
Patients were moved from the emergency room to a safer location in the hospital while an ER physician and manager tended to the victim.
BCNU spoke to Interior Health last Friday. They will be discussing partnering together to address the problem, such as developing more effective policies that better protect front line hospital staff. However, this needs to involve all levels including the Ministry of Health and government resources.
Duteil says this incident might be something she’d expect to see at hospitals in larger centres, and that it highlights the fact that smaller communities aren’t immune to the growing number of violent incidents.
“At many of these small hospitals, there isn’t a security guard or any line of defence between the front door and the triage area,” she says. “Sometimes locking the doors after hours is the only option.”
BC Nurses’ Union
Editor’s note: Police investigated the incident and determined that no one else had suffered any injuries. The man was treated for his injuries and was in stable condition.
