Kamloops RCMP are investigating after a nurse at Royal Inland Hospital said she was assaulted by a patient in the emergency room on Saturday morning.
Arlene Tedjo told CTV she was working in the emergency department when Kamloops RCMP were called to respond to a man whose behaviour Tedjo says escalated to the point where it was dangerous and unmanageable.
She says she woke up the unresponsive patient and then walked by the man several minutes later.
“That individual purposely waited until I was walking past to kick my leg with the intent of tripping me,” Tedjo told CTV, noting the man almost struck a co-worker.
“I stumbled and then he said to me, ‘I don’t know how they do things in your country’ — implying, first, that I’m not from this country and being racist towards my level of education and professionalism.”
In a statement to NL News, Interior Health confirmed there was an incident at the RIH Emergency Room on Saturday involving a patient and two staff members.
It says the RCMP were contacted, and staff members “received support onsite” and were able to finish their shifts as scheduled.
“Procedures are in place to respond to such incidents and follow up is ongoing,” IH added.
The Vice President of the BC Nurses Union says unfortunately, nurses across the province have been subjected to an increasing amount of aggression and violence.
“Whether it be verbally, physically, and unfortunately at times, racialized comments,” says Adriane Gear.
She believes two contributing factors to the aggression nurses have been facing is the pandemic and the healthcare crisis in B-C.
“Its actually creating a real pressure cooker and particularly in emergency rooms, although I can say that violence happens in every sector of healthcare but certainly those working in ER’s are receiving the brunt of peoples frustrations, worry and stress.”
On top of that, Gear explains there is a limited lack of follow-up support for nurses dealing with verbal and physical aggression day in and day out.
“There is extremely limited ability to sort of debrief and really, that’s how you get through situations, you need opportunities to feel supported, talk about the impact, and how you are going to move through it.”
– With files from Paul James and Abby Zieverink
— Alvin Tedjo (@AlvinTedjo) August 8, 2022