A Winnipeg nurse is calling for immediate change in an “unethical” situation linked to escalating violence

The head of the Manitoba Nurses Union isn't surprised another frontline health care worker is deeply concerned about escalating violence in their workplace.

A letter written by a senior nurse and sent to Prime Minister Wab Kinew, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara and others claims there have been recent incidents of “unsafe and unacceptable conditions” for nurses. The letter arrived in the Manitoba legislature on Friday.

The unnamed nurse, who has worked in the medicine department at the Health Sciences Center in Winnipeg for more than 34 years, said there are multiple issues nurses face every day, including “escalating violence in emergency rooms to inadequate safety measures and an unsafe staff level. making both staff and patients vulnerable.”

The nurse says their family fears for their safety.

“This is a public health crisis. A healthcare system that cannot guarantee the safety of healthcare providers cannot guarantee the safety of its patients. The current lack of action in this area is not only unacceptable – it is unethical,” the letter said.

They noted that only a crowbar, screwdrivers and a heavy chain with a lock were found in their department, and that doesn't include the verbal abuse the staff receives, the nurse claims.

Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union, told CBC News on Sunday she's hearing more incidents and complaints like this from nurses across the province.

“We're seeing more and more guns and we're hearing from more and more nurses talking about the unsafe conditions in their workplace and feeling unsafe,” Jackson said.

As part of a pilot project, an AI weapon detection system was temporarily installed at the entrance to the Health Sciences Center facilities in July.

Jackson said she spoke with nurses who felt safer around patients and visitors when the detectors turned on, and she understands they will come back.

“I have been led to believe that gun detectors will now be permanently installed in the country [the Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg, outside the main emergency door entrance] and the Crisis Response Center. “I don't think they're there yet, but I think it's a start,” she said.

“But I think we need to see those gun detectors at almost every door or entrance and at every door [health] facility.”

Jackson isn't concerned about negative perceptions surrounding the detectors and whether they might make patients feel less welcome.

'I think it feels like Big Brother is watching… but there is a responsibility to ensure that everyone in our healthcare facilities is safe. And if there is a patient or a visitor or a family member who comes in with a weapon and then escalates, no one is safe,” she said.

Jackson adds that an expansion of institutional security officers and high-quality security cameras would also help.

During question period at the Manitoba legislature on Friday, Kinew praised his NDP government's addition of more than 100 institutional security officers since taking office in October 2023.

The premier also said the province is listening to nurses.

“We absolutely know that you have the right to go to work safely and return home safely at the end of your shift. The same goes for patients,” Kinew said.

A spokesperson for Shared Health said in an email that the unit referenced in the letter has a security guard at the entrance 12 hours a day, and that security buzzes visitors into the area at other times.

The health authority, which is responsible for the operation of the Health Sciences Centre, is working on the permanent installation of weapons detection scanners, and an additional 21 positions for institutional security officers were posted last month, the email said.

Nurse fears for colleagues

The nurse who wrote the letter says they plan to leave nursing next year, and with a heavy heart, because working conditions are worse – not better.

“I leave my team feeling exhausted. I fear for them all. I still have years to give, but I will be walking away soon because of my mental and physical health,” the letter said.

Because nurses are in such high demand across the country, continued violence in provincial health care settings and against staff makes it challenging for the nursing profession to be presented as a great career for future nursing students, Jackson said.

“People have said, 'You don't make nursing sound very good.' But the bottom line is if we don't do that and if the nurses don't stand up and say this is not a safe facility, the issues will never be addressed,” she said. “So it's a double-edged sword because we have urgency nurses needed. We urgently need allied health workers, we need support staff, we need everyone in healthcare.

“But if we don't stand up and insist that changes happen, we will never keep them when they come.”