Tuesday, 13 August 2024

Hospital security

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (18:43): (1042) My adjournment matter is for the attention of the Minister for Health, and it is regarding security, especially around hospitals across the state, but I want to highlight an issue at Frankston Hospital, which was an appalling situation last week. On 1 August, Jamie, a young mother with her sick four-month-old baby in the car, was confronted by a hooded machete wielding teenager at 11 pm in the car park of Frankston Hospital. It was terrifying for her. She was completely traumatised by this frightening incident, and she said on radio that the young offender left her alone after he saw she had a baby.

For a young mother who was taking her baby to an emergency department to seek care to be confronted by this thug, this violent young thug, is completely and utterly unacceptable. The police later released a statement around this incident and said that it was a 15-year-old who had been charged with multiple offences, including threat to inflict serious injury, and was released on bail. This is exactly the issue we have in this state – a crime situation that is out of control – and we are debating the Youth Justice Bill 2024, but I completely do not agree that it is going to fix this problem because of what is going on.

In relation to security at Frankston Hospital, last year I was contacted by the father of a security guard – I was contacted by the father of somebody working in the hospital, I should say – who told me that despite increases in security incidents they were told the number of security guards had been reduced due to the hospital’s budget constraints.

The action I seek is for the minister to provide assurances to the house that there are adequate security measures in place to protect staff and patients in the vicinity of emergency departments in public hospitals across Victoria. We know there is an increasing crime issue across the state generally, but the number of violent assaults against doctors, nurses, paramedics and orderlies, those that are attending to people in the hospitals, is also increasing, and it is completely unacceptable. The government brought in legislation around this – I do not know how many people have actually been charged with an offence for attacking frontline personnel – but nevertheless my action is around the security of hospitals to ensure that patients and staff are safe.