Tuesday, 14 November 2023

Health services occupational violence

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (17:48): (595) My adjournment matter is for the attention of the Minister for Health, and it is in relation to occupational violence in our hospitals and across our health services. Occupational violence is defined as any incident where an employee is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances arising out of or in the course of their employment. Unfortunately over the past few years we have seen an increase in occupational violence. Indeed prior to last year’s election the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine were calling for 24-hour security guards in every Victorian emergency department because they understood the level of violence that was occurring in our emergency departments, which was threatening staff and threatening other patients. This is completely unacceptable, and it delays the delivery of good health care to those patients in need, despite the efforts of doctors, nurses, admin and clerical staff and others, who are all trying to do their work and look after those patients.

What we do know is this government has failed to meet the needs of the Victorian community in providing assistance with mental health. Certainly we have seen those mental health numbers skyrocket through Victoria. There are not enough rehabilitation beds and assistance. Often the police will tell you they are dealing with a lot of unwell patients who are violent, and this is causing a massive issue in our emergency departments. But the occupational violence is not just in our EDs, it is in wards, where patients, for whatever reason, become violent. I have been looking through a number of annual reports that were tabled in the last week, and in some of our health services there is a definite increase in occupational violence.

In 2018 the government undertook the Occupational Violence and Aggression Case Study: Security-Trained Personnel as an Effective Control, I think it was. They did a number of things. They looked at risk assessments, security-trained personnel as an effective control, the outcome of those security-trained personnel and flexing up to effectively control risk and then reviewed for effectiveness. The action I am seeking is for the minister to direct the Department of Health to undertake another review into security arrangements in our hospitals, given that the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine called for this 12 months ago and given that the latest statistics in some of the annual reports that were tabled in the Parliament last week indicate an increase in occupational violence and the risk to staff and of course patients.