❓ Question regarding the safety of mental health staff after a stabbing incident, focusing on responsibility and preventative measures. The Minister responds by outlining previous safety improvements and committing to a review.
AnsweredQoN 481Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MENTAL HEALTH STAFF - SAFETY
I refer to the very sad stabbing of a nurse by a psychiatric outpatient in a car park of the community forensic mental health clinic in East Perth yesterday. (1) How can the minister guarantee the safety of mental health staff inside and outside their places of work? (2) In light of the minister’s comment this morning that it is up to the Department of Health to look after the safety of all its staff, will he, as minister, take responsibility for the safety of all staff under his care, instead of passing the buck on to the Department of Health? (3) Given that the opposition and the Australian Nursing Federation have been calling for better security for nurses in parking areas for years, will the minister now treat this matter as urgent? Mr J.A. McGINTY
I refer to the very sad stabbing of a nurse by a psychiatric outpatient in a car park of the community forensic mental health clinic in East Perth yesterday. (1) How can the minister guarantee the safety of mental health staff inside and outside their places of work? (2) In light of the minister’s comment this morning that it is up to the Department of Health to look after the safety of all its staff, will he, as minister, take responsibility for the safety of all staff under his care, instead of passing the buck on to the Department of Health? (3) Given that the opposition and the Australian Nursing Federation have been calling for better security for nurses in parking areas for years, will the minister now treat this matter as urgent? Mr J.A. McGINTY
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(3) In reply to the second part of the question, as Minister for Health, of course I accept responsibility for what the Department of Health does. It is absurd to suggest otherwise. Following the tragic bashing of nurse Debbie Freeman at the Swan Health Service mental health unit in 2004, there was a whole-of-health system analysis of what needed to be done to improve the security of mental health staff. We all appreciate that when dealing with mental health patients, particularly those at an acute stage of their illness, there is unpredictability and even danger associated with that. My job, and the job of the Department of Health, is to minimise that danger. We spent millions of dollars going through every aspect of the design of buildings. We made sure that there were two exits from rooms in which interviews were being conducted, that duress alarms were installed and that there was staff training, particularly in aggression management and how to deal with these difficult situations. There was a very significant system-wide - Dr K.D. Hames : The question related to outside the clinic. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
(1) How can the minister guarantee the safety of mental health staff inside and outside their places of work? (2) In light of the minister’s comment this morning that it is up to the Department of Health to look after the safety of all its staff, will he, as minister, take responsibility for the safety of all staff under his care, instead of passing the buck on to the Department of Health? (3) Given that the opposition and the Australian Nursing Federation have been calling for better security for nurses in parking areas for years, will the minister now treat this matter as urgent? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) In reply to the second part of the question, as Minister for Health, of course I accept responsibility for what the Department of Health does. It is absurd to suggest otherwise. Following the tragic bashing of nurse Debbie Freeman at the Swan Health Service mental health unit in 2004, there was a whole-of-health system analysis of what needed to be done to improve the security of mental health staff. We all appreciate that when dealing with mental health patients, particularly those at an acute stage of their illness, there is unpredictability and even danger associated with that. My job, and the job of the Department of Health, is to minimise that danger. We spent millions of dollars going through every aspect of the design of buildings. We made sure that there were two exits from rooms in which interviews were being conducted, that duress alarms were installed and that there was staff training, particularly in aggression management and how to deal with these difficult situations. There was a very significant system-wide - Dr K.D. Hames : The question related to outside the clinic. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
(2) In light of the minister’s comment this morning that it is up to the Department of Health to look after the safety of all its staff, will he, as minister, take responsibility for the safety of all staff under his care, instead of passing the buck on to the Department of Health? (3) Given that the opposition and the Australian Nursing Federation have been calling for better security for nurses in parking areas for years, will the minister now treat this matter as urgent? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) In reply to the second part of the question, as Minister for Health, of course I accept responsibility for what the Department of Health does. It is absurd to suggest otherwise. Following the tragic bashing of nurse Debbie Freeman at the Swan Health Service mental health unit in 2004, there was a whole-of-health system analysis of what needed to be done to improve the security of mental health staff. We all appreciate that when dealing with mental health patients, particularly those at an acute stage of their illness, there is unpredictability and even danger associated with that. My job, and the job of the Department of Health, is to minimise that danger. We spent millions of dollars going through every aspect of the design of buildings. We made sure that there were two exits from rooms in which interviews were being conducted, that duress alarms were installed and that there was staff training, particularly in aggression management and how to deal with these difficult situations. There was a very significant system-wide - Dr K.D. Hames : The question related to outside the clinic. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
(3) Given that the opposition and the Australian Nursing Federation have been calling for better security for nurses in parking areas for years, will the minister now treat this matter as urgent? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) In reply to the second part of the question, as Minister for Health, of course I accept responsibility for what the Department of Health does. It is absurd to suggest otherwise. Following the tragic bashing of nurse Debbie Freeman at the Swan Health Service mental health unit in 2004, there was a whole-of-health system analysis of what needed to be done to improve the security of mental health staff. We all appreciate that when dealing with mental health patients, particularly those at an acute stage of their illness, there is unpredictability and even danger associated with that. My job, and the job of the Department of Health, is to minimise that danger. We spent millions of dollars going through every aspect of the design of buildings. We made sure that there were two exits from rooms in which interviews were being conducted, that duress alarms were installed and that there was staff training, particularly in aggression management and how to deal with these difficult situations. There was a very significant system-wide - Dr K.D. Hames : The question related to outside the clinic. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) In reply to the second part of the question, as Minister for Health, of course I accept responsibility for what the Department of Health does. It is absurd to suggest otherwise. Following the tragic bashing of nurse Debbie Freeman at the Swan Health Service mental health unit in 2004, there was a whole-of-health system analysis of what needed to be done to improve the security of mental health staff. We all appreciate that when dealing with mental health patients, particularly those at an acute stage of their illness, there is unpredictability and even danger associated with that. My job, and the job of the Department of Health, is to minimise that danger. We spent millions of dollars going through every aspect of the design of buildings. We made sure that there were two exits from rooms in which interviews were being conducted, that duress alarms were installed and that there was staff training, particularly in aggression management and how to deal with these difficult situations. There was a very significant system-wide - Dr K.D. Hames : The question related to outside the clinic. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
(1)-(3) In reply to the second part of the question, as Minister for Health, of course I accept responsibility for what the Department of Health does. It is absurd to suggest otherwise. Following the tragic bashing of nurse Debbie Freeman at the Swan Health Service mental health unit in 2004, there was a whole-of-health system analysis of what needed to be done to improve the security of mental health staff. We all appreciate that when dealing with mental health patients, particularly those at an acute stage of their illness, there is unpredictability and even danger associated with that. My job, and the job of the Department of Health, is to minimise that danger. We spent millions of dollars going through every aspect of the design of buildings. We made sure that there were two exits from rooms in which interviews were being conducted, that duress alarms were installed and that there was staff training, particularly in aggression management and how to deal with these difficult situations. There was a very significant system-wide - Dr K.D. Hames : The question related to outside the clinic. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
Dr K.D. Hames : The question related to outside the clinic. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
(1) How can the minister guarantee the safety of mental health staff inside and outside their places of work? (2) In light of the minister’s comment this morning that it is up to the Department of Health to look after the safety of all its staff, will he, as minister, take responsibility for the safety of all staff under his care, instead of passing the buck on to the Department of Health? (3) Given that the opposition and the Australian Nursing Federation have been calling for better security for nurses in parking areas for years, will the minister now treat this matter as urgent? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) In reply to the second part of the question, as Minister for Health, of course I accept responsibility for what the Department of Health does. It is absurd to suggest otherwise. Following the tragic bashing of nurse Debbie Freeman at the Swan Health Service mental health unit in 2004, there was a whole-of-health system analysis of what needed to be done to improve the security of mental health staff. We all appreciate that when dealing with mental health patients, particularly those at an acute stage of their illness, there is unpredictability and even danger associated with that. My job, and the job of the Department of Health, is to minimise that danger. We spent millions of dollars going through every aspect of the design of buildings. We made sure that there were two exits from rooms in which interviews were being conducted, that duress alarms were installed and that there was staff training, particularly in aggression management and how to deal with these difficult situations. There was a very significant system-wide - Dr K.D. Hames : The question related to outside the clinic. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
(2) In light of the minister’s comment this morning that it is up to the Department of Health to look after the safety of all its staff, will he, as minister, take responsibility for the safety of all staff under his care, instead of passing the buck on to the Department of Health? (3) Given that the opposition and the Australian Nursing Federation have been calling for better security for nurses in parking areas for years, will the minister now treat this matter as urgent? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) In reply to the second part of the question, as Minister for Health, of course I accept responsibility for what the Department of Health does. It is absurd to suggest otherwise. Following the tragic bashing of nurse Debbie Freeman at the Swan Health Service mental health unit in 2004, there was a whole-of-health system analysis of what needed to be done to improve the security of mental health staff. We all appreciate that when dealing with mental health patients, particularly those at an acute stage of their illness, there is unpredictability and even danger associated with that. My job, and the job of the Department of Health, is to minimise that danger. We spent millions of dollars going through every aspect of the design of buildings. We made sure that there were two exits from rooms in which interviews were being conducted, that duress alarms were installed and that there was staff training, particularly in aggression management and how to deal with these difficult situations. There was a very significant system-wide - Dr K.D. Hames : The question related to outside the clinic. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
(3) Given that the opposition and the Australian Nursing Federation have been calling for better security for nurses in parking areas for years, will the minister now treat this matter as urgent? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) In reply to the second part of the question, as Minister for Health, of course I accept responsibility for what the Department of Health does. It is absurd to suggest otherwise. Following the tragic bashing of nurse Debbie Freeman at the Swan Health Service mental health unit in 2004, there was a whole-of-health system analysis of what needed to be done to improve the security of mental health staff. We all appreciate that when dealing with mental health patients, particularly those at an acute stage of their illness, there is unpredictability and even danger associated with that. My job, and the job of the Department of Health, is to minimise that danger. We spent millions of dollars going through every aspect of the design of buildings. We made sure that there were two exits from rooms in which interviews were being conducted, that duress alarms were installed and that there was staff training, particularly in aggression management and how to deal with these difficult situations. There was a very significant system-wide - Dr K.D. Hames : The question related to outside the clinic. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) In reply to the second part of the question, as Minister for Health, of course I accept responsibility for what the Department of Health does. It is absurd to suggest otherwise. Following the tragic bashing of nurse Debbie Freeman at the Swan Health Service mental health unit in 2004, there was a whole-of-health system analysis of what needed to be done to improve the security of mental health staff. We all appreciate that when dealing with mental health patients, particularly those at an acute stage of their illness, there is unpredictability and even danger associated with that. My job, and the job of the Department of Health, is to minimise that danger. We spent millions of dollars going through every aspect of the design of buildings. We made sure that there were two exits from rooms in which interviews were being conducted, that duress alarms were installed and that there was staff training, particularly in aggression management and how to deal with these difficult situations. There was a very significant system-wide - Dr K.D. Hames : The question related to outside the clinic. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
(1)-(3) In reply to the second part of the question, as Minister for Health, of course I accept responsibility for what the Department of Health does. It is absurd to suggest otherwise. Following the tragic bashing of nurse Debbie Freeman at the Swan Health Service mental health unit in 2004, there was a whole-of-health system analysis of what needed to be done to improve the security of mental health staff. We all appreciate that when dealing with mental health patients, particularly those at an acute stage of their illness, there is unpredictability and even danger associated with that. My job, and the job of the Department of Health, is to minimise that danger. We spent millions of dollars going through every aspect of the design of buildings. We made sure that there were two exits from rooms in which interviews were being conducted, that duress alarms were installed and that there was staff training, particularly in aggression management and how to deal with these difficult situations. There was a very significant system-wide - Dr K.D. Hames : The question related to outside the clinic. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
Dr K.D. Hames : The question related to outside the clinic. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am just going to explain what happened. We took very seriously the bashing of Debbie Freeman. We have invested a total of $7 million. We have been unable to extract how much of that was for safety, but that was for staff-related matters flowing out of that issue. Some of it might have been for more staff to ensure safer arrangements. A host of reforms were carried out at the time, which were thought to address the key safety issues for mental health staff. This issue, the very sad - I agree with the member’s word “tragic” - attack on a mental health nurse in East Perth is something for which I have said to the Department of Health I want a full review in the context of what more we can do to protect the staff, because we must not accept that assaults, and particularly criminal assaults of this nature, are inevitable. We will certainly be prosecuting to the full extent of the law any assault on any member of health staff, particularly those involved with mental health patients. We will do everything that we can. We are happy to take on board any suggestions for further improvement on top of the millions of dollars of improvements that were made to every aspect of mental health care following the tragic bashing of Debbie Freeman.
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