❓ Question addresses the McGowan government's public awareness campaign and investment to tackle violence against health staff. The Minister outlines the government's commitment and initiatives to protect hospital workers and reduce aggression.
AnsweredQoN 1023Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HEALTH STAFF —
ASSAULTS AGAINST
1023. Ms J.M. FREEMAN to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the McGowan Labor government's commitment
to protect our dedicated hospital staff from violence and aggression. Can the
minister outline to the house how the public awareness campaign, which began on
Sunday, will reinforce this government's zero-tolerance approach to
violence against staff and build on the $11 million worth of investment
measures to tackle aggressive behaviour in our hospitals?
ASSAULTS AGAINST
1023. Ms J.M. FREEMAN to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the McGowan Labor government's commitment
to protect our dedicated hospital staff from violence and aggression. Can the
minister outline to the house how the public awareness campaign, which began on
Sunday, will reinforce this government's zero-tolerance approach to
violence against staff and build on the $11 million worth of investment
measures to tackle aggressive behaviour in our hospitals?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Mirrabooka for the question on this
very serious issue.
We all know that violence in any form is unacceptable, but
when that violence is upon a member of our community who cares for us when we
are unwell, it is abhorrent and we will not stand for it. At the last election,
we all knew that the incidence of aggression and violence in our health system
was on the increase, but we heard nothing from the Liberal–National
government when it was in office. We went to the election with a $2 million
commitment around improving security and safety measures for our frontline
doctors and nurses who work in our hospitals. In government, we have gone
beyond that with over $11 million worth of investment to reduce the scourge of
violence and aggression in our hospitals, $180 000 of which will go towards a public
awareness campaign to remind everyone in the community that this sort of
behaviour is just not acceptable. This campaign, which began yesterday, will
feature a range of healthcare workers and will run across radio, digital
channels and outdoor media to reinforce the message with the public that our
staff must be protected. We want to put patients first, but we cannot put
patients first if we do not care for the people who care for our patients. That
is why we will not tolerate incidents of aggression in our hospitals.
We have already announced a $5.1 million package in capital
funding for improved security in our hospitals. Over 60 per cent of that will
go to our regional and country hospitals. In addition, another $6.1 million
will go towards extra staff—extra security staff, and extra alcohol and
other drugs nurses in our emergency departments—and extra training for
all our frontline workers to equip people better to deal with unacceptably high
levels of aggression in our public hospitals. This is a damaging and nasty
incidence, and we will not tolerate it for one second. We went to the election
with strong commitments around security for our frontline hospital workers, and
we have followed through with significant investment. The McGowan government
will put patients first. We put our patients first by putting our hospital
workers first.
very serious issue.
We all know that violence in any form is unacceptable, but
when that violence is upon a member of our community who cares for us when we
are unwell, it is abhorrent and we will not stand for it. At the last election,
we all knew that the incidence of aggression and violence in our health system
was on the increase, but we heard nothing from the Liberal–National
government when it was in office. We went to the election with a $2 million
commitment around improving security and safety measures for our frontline
doctors and nurses who work in our hospitals. In government, we have gone
beyond that with over $11 million worth of investment to reduce the scourge of
violence and aggression in our hospitals, $180 000 of which will go towards a public
awareness campaign to remind everyone in the community that this sort of
behaviour is just not acceptable. This campaign, which began yesterday, will
feature a range of healthcare workers and will run across radio, digital
channels and outdoor media to reinforce the message with the public that our
staff must be protected. We want to put patients first, but we cannot put
patients first if we do not care for the people who care for our patients. That
is why we will not tolerate incidents of aggression in our hospitals.
We have already announced a $5.1 million package in capital
funding for improved security in our hospitals. Over 60 per cent of that will
go to our regional and country hospitals. In addition, another $6.1 million
will go towards extra staff—extra security staff, and extra alcohol and
other drugs nurses in our emergency departments—and extra training for
all our frontline workers to equip people better to deal with unacceptably high
levels of aggression in our public hospitals. This is a damaging and nasty
incidence, and we will not tolerate it for one second. We went to the election
with strong commitments around security for our frontline hospital workers, and
we have followed through with significant investment. The McGowan government
will put patients first. We put our patients first by putting our hospital
workers first.
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