Assaults on Te Whatu Ora staff rising in Bay of Plenty, nurse calls for ‘long-term’ increase of security guards

A Bay of Plenty nurse who says she has been sworn at and verbally abused by patients at work is calling for a “long-term” increase in extra security guards at Te Whatu Ora hospitals.

It comes after Health Minister Dr Shane Reti in December announced a $5.7 million boost to employ additional security staff at hospitals during the summer after an “unacceptable” number of reported assaults on staff.

Regional figures for Te Whatu Ora Hauora a Toi Ora Bay of Plenty show the number of reported assaults has been increasing year on year at Tauranga and Whakatāne Hospitals, with some of the most serious including sexual assault, contusions to various body parts and “assault by bite”.

Figures obtained under the Official Information Act from Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand show 1437 events were recorded as behaviour including “threats of and actual violence and aggression” to staff by patients between January 1, 2020 and October 31, 2023 at Te Whatu Ora Bay of Plenty hospitals.

Fifty-two of these incidents required a police callout.

There were 443 recorded incidents of verbal abuse or threats on health staff during the same period.

Some examples included physical assaults, psychological abuse (bullying and harassment), sexual incidents (including harassment and indecent exposure), verbal abuse with racial, gender and disability content.

The document said 25 assaults resulted in injury management claims. This included injuries such as sprains, an open wound of the neck and scalp and contusions of the back, scalp, chest, shoulder, thumb, cheek and breast.

Others included sexual assault by bodily force and “assault by bite”.

Nurse verbally abused ‘periodically’ throughout five-year career

New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) delegate and Whakatāne Hospital clinical nurse specialist , Tracy Black said she had been verbally abused “periodically” throughout her five-year career at the hospital.

Black said she had been told: “F*** you,” “Who the f*** do you think you are?” “Are you a real f****** nurse?”. She had also endured racial slurs.

“Those are things that you hear a lot in nursing.”

Black said verbal abuse was often a “knee-jerk reaction” from highly stressed patients.

She said she had learned efficient de-escalation techniques.

Tracy Black has spoken about how assaults and verbal abuse affect hospital staff. Photo / Alex Cairns

“It has affected my confidence in the past but you learn to have coping mechanisms.”

Black said she had not formally reported the verbal assaults but had spoken to her colleagues about them.

She believed the number of assaults would be “much higher” because staff did not always officially report them.

Black said the reasons she had not reported verbal abuse was because “I haven’t been hit” and the “implication” on the patient.

While their behaviour wasn’t appropriate, some things needed to be considered such as if it was a one-off or repetitive behaviour, she said.

Extra security guards at hospitals needed ‘long-term’

Black, who had spoken with staff at Rotorua, Tauranga and Whakatāne Hospitals as an NZNO delegate, said the impact of assaults on staff included increased time off work and a greater need for psychological support.

“Your confidence takes a hammering.”

Black said staff taking more time off work resulted in short staffing, and wait times for patients would be “even longer”.

Tracy Black wants to see "long-term" funding for extra security guards at Te Whatu Ora hospitals. Photo / Alex Cairns

On Minister Reti’s funding increase for security guards, Black said staff working in emergency departments were thankful and it had helped.

“It’s a visual aid for people to see that there’s a security [guard] present.”

However, Black said it needed to be long-term.

She said the “real issue” was not having enough healthcare staff, particularly “locally trained people that understand the landscape of the community”.

Te Whatu Ora responds

In a statement, Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora chief people officer Andrew Slater said the agency was still compiling data for emergency departments so was not yet able to assess the full impact of increased security.

Slater said he met with some frontline ED staff in Christchurch who were appreciative of the extra security staff and said their presence had made a difference to their everyday work.

“The feedback I have received from frontline staff, including those in the Lakes and Bay of Plenty districts, has also been very positive and I am pleased that our hardworking people have been feeling safer during the summer holiday period.”

Slater said Health NZ was looking at options for how the initiative might be extended beyond the current period. The data being collated would help to inform the next steps.

“We take the security of our staff, patients and visitors incredibly seriously. Our staff deserve a safe workplace, and we want people who need healthcare to be able to access it in a safe and welcoming environment.”

A Health NZ spokeswoman confirmed two extra security staff were provided to each of Tauranga, Rotorua, Whakatāne and Taupō Hospitals.

Te Whatu Ora says vast majority of interactions ‘kind and respectful’

Documents received under the Official Information Act from Te Whatu Ora said the vast majority of interactions with patients and their whānau were “kind and respectful”.

“It’s a very small minority of cases where our staff may experience aggression of some kind.

“Many cases of violence or threats against our people are made by people under stress, who aren’t always aware of their actions. They have no intent to cause harm.”

The document said several actions were under way to respond to violence and aggression in the workplace after identifying workplace violence was a “critical risk”.

This included ensuring all staff were equipped to cope with a range of situations, such as de-escalation techniques.

Te Whatu Ora also had a national workplace aggression prevention group and programme which identified areas where improvements could be made and how it could support staff and patients more effectively.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.