Student nurse attacked with knife at Vancouver hospital, union says

The B.C. Nurses' Union says a student nurse was attacked with a knife at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) on Thursday, during what the union president says was the victim's first clinical placement.

A Vancouver Police Department spokesperson says officers responded to an assault around 9 a.m. PT on Thursday at the hospital, and a 37-year-old woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

"VPD arrested a 48-year-old man, who was a patient at the hospital," Sgt. Steve Addison said in a statement.

"Because the suspect required further medical and psychiatric care, he was released from custody and into the secure care of the hospital."

Addison said police will recommend charges against the man.

The nurses' union said the attack was a "terrifying experience" for the victim in her first stint at a hospital.

Adriane Gear, the president of the B.C. Nurses' Union (BCNU), said the nurse sustained superficial wounds in the attack — but that it was traumatizing for her, other staff and patients at VGH.

"The conditions of work for nurses are actually the conditions of care for patients," she told CBC News.

"And so when nurses and other health-care workers aren't safe, I think it's safe to conclude that perhaps there's an impact on patient safety as well."

Gear is asking for more relational security officers to be hired across B.C. Those officers are staff members who are trained in anticipating and de-escalating violence in health-care settings, according to the province.

Gear said she would further like to see B.C.'s health-care authorities more strictly enforce directives against violence in the workplace.

The union president also wants an investigation into the issue, with the involvement of workplace regulator WorkSafeBC.

She said governments, health authorities, unions and regulators need to be working together toward systemic changes.

"And now we really should be inviting the nursing schools into this conversation in a meaningful way."

A poll of thousands of BCNU members earlier this year showed that around 37 per cent of nurses in the Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) authority reported being exposed to weapons at least once a month, and around a third of those nurses were considering leaving the profession.

Gear warned that the province's push for nurse-to-patient ratios will fail if they don't do enough to improve nurses' working conditions.

"I hope that this very terrifying incident for this student nurse serves as a stark wake-up call for the health authorities," she said.

A VCH spokesperson said the safety of patients and staff is a top priority and violence isn't tolerated.

"VCH regularly reviews our practices and incidents to make sure we can tailor the best approaches to keep staff and patients safe," the spokesperson said in a statement.