Mr. Katsambanis questions the Premier's commitment to protecting nurses from violent assaults. The Premier defends the government's initiatives, citing mental health and substance abuse as contributing factors, advocating for careful policy development.

AnsweredQoN 699Legislative Assembly
Asked
29 August 2019
Portfolio
Premier

QuestionView source ↗

HEALTH STAFF —
ASSAULTS AGAINST — MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES
699. Mr P.A. KATSAMBANIS to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question.
Why is the Premier refusing to properly protect those nurses who tirelessly
serve our community but are subject to the ever-present danger of violent
assault?

AnswerView source ↗

As per usual, the member did not
listen to my answer. The government is putting in place a whole range of
initiatives. There are stress alarms, additional security, security vests and
additional staff in our hospitals to deal with
this issue. I repeat: a range of the people in our hospitals are affected, by
definition, with mental health issues —as we know, it is the
fastest growing area of health provision needed in our community—and
people who might be highly stressed by whatever is going on or under the
influence of alcohol or drugs, some of which, certainly drugs, are prescribed
in the hospital environment. That is why we need to be very careful and
considered in the policy prescriptions that we put forward, which is what we
are doing.

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