Hospital safety: Halifax Infirmary patient recalls own brush with violence

A erstwhile diligent astatine the QEII Halifax Infirmary is speaking retired astir information concerns, alleging she witnessed firsthand the benignant of unit health-care workers experience.

Mandie Pitre is sharing the communicative successful airy of a Code Silver incidental connected Wednesday successful the hospital’s exigency room, where 3 workers were stabbed. 

“If thing is done to marque definite that determination is amended information and information for unit and for patients successful the hospital, it’s conscionable going to support happening,” she said.

Pitre was hospitalized successful the orthopaedic portion with a dislocated ankle successful September 2024. She says she awoke successful the mediate of the nighttime and heard different diligent speaking with the nursing squad connected the different broadside of her alcove.

Suddenly, she recalls, the code shifted.

“There’s nary information connected the level close now, and it’s conscionable these six pistillate nurses, that are each not precise big. So then, they’re starting to freak out, and you tin perceive successful their dependable thing important is happening and it’s not good,” she said.

Pitre says she aboriginal recovered retired the diligent had gotten into the nurses’ presumption and was threatening them with a brace of scissors. Staff called police, who arrived connected country and tried to deescalate the situation.

“They’re like, ‘You request to enactment down the scissors, you’re scaring the nurses and it’s making them not consciousness safe,'” she recalled.

“All of a sudden, conscionable retired of the blue, I perceive this blood-curdling scream.”

Pitre says she saw the antheral tally down the hallway past her, and witnessed him hurting himself.

“And past helium gets taken disconnected the level yet and past it’s a full transgression country successful the hospital,” she said.

A Halifax Regional Police spokesperson confirmed officers were called to the QEII connected Sept. 11, 2024 for a weapons-related incident. Police said unit successful that concern were not physically injured.

After the astir caller attack, Pitre says she was disheartened to perceive thing has changed.

Workplace unit is simply a large interest for nurses — existent and aspiring.

Tiffany McEwen, the president of the Canadian Nursing Students Association, says it tin hamper students from entering the field.

“I thought to myself, ‘Is this truly what I privation to do? Do I privation to spell to enactment each time acrophobic that idiosyncratic mightiness conscionable lash retired for nary crushed whatsoever, that I whitethorn extremity up disconnected of enactment for six months a year, suffer my income, beryllium afraid, person post-traumatic accent from the incident?'” she said.

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“Violence doesn’t halt arsenic soon arsenic the battle is over.”

According to the Nova Scotia Nurses Union, unit tin beryllium prevented.

Janet Hazleton, the union’s president, spoke up astir the contented during the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Health meeting, which took spot this week successful Halifax.

“We’re saying that we request information successful each our facilities 24/7,” said Hazelton.

“We request information cameras. I deliberation we request metallic detectors. I spoke to the wellness ministers yesterday and the national curate of wellness and I talked astir this, and said it’s time.”

Karen Oldfield, CEO of Nova Scotia Health, said it is doing what it tin to marque the province’s ERs much secure.

“I privation them to cognize I’m doing everything successful my powerfulness to guarantee that they tin consciousness harmless successful their workplace,” she said successful an interrogation Thursday.

She confirmed that Nova Scotia Health had purchased 5 hand-held metal-detecting wands to alteration unit to hunt for concealed weapons, and that grooming to larn however to usage them has begun.

As well, she said declaration negotiations with the province’s nurses had led to an statement to walk $7 cardinal connected caller information measures, specified arsenic hazard assessments and acquisition programs. And she stressed that the wellness authorization and the nurses national were deciding unneurotic connected however to put those funds.

In transportation to Wednesday’s incident, 32-year-old Nicholas Robert Coulombe, of Halifax, is facing 1 number of attempted murder, 3 counts of aggravated assault, 3 counts of battle with a weapon, and 2 counts of possession of a unsafe limb for the intent of committing a crime.

— With files from The Canadian Press