Simon O’Connor / Tips
Security measures are tightened at the Taranaki DHB facilities, in part due to Covid-19.
More than 90 Taranaki District Health Board staff have been physically assaulted in the past year, despite the board spending more than double its security budget of $ 642,501.
In total, there were 238 assaults, including 90 incidents of verbal abuse and 46 threats of physical abuse against staff from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.
While incidents were spread across the organization, the majority concerned mental health.
Chief Operating Officer Gillian Campbell said Taranaki DHB aims to create a “pro-safety culture”.
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It was the one where the emphasis was on preventing and deterring unwanted behavior; detect, investigate and analyze security incidents; support those affected by security incidents and hold people to account for their actions.
“Despite our best efforts to keep our staff from being physically and verbally assaulted, unfortunately they still happen. “
The DHB allocated $ 642,501 for security for the year through June 2021, but the bill was $ 1,314,858.
“We have intentionally increased security over the past year, in an unplanned manner, but as we have more incidents such as vandalism, we have responded to this with additional security around the site,” Campbell said. .
Part of the budget explosion was due to Covid-19, as every time Taranaki went up, an alert security level had to be raised.
There was no budget included for Covid-19 security in 2020/21, but it is part of the Covid-19 vaccination budget plan for 2021/22. The Covid-19 vaccination started after our 2021/22 budgeting process. ”
Vaccination centers all have security at a cost of around $ 3,000 per week, said Campbell, who to date is included in the 2020/21 security total.
“The security requirements for our Covid-19 vaccination centers include two security guards per center for each vaccination day – Friday / Saturday in Hāwera and Tuesday-Saturday in New Plymouth. “
DHB hired consultants Stoks Limited, at a cost of $ 50,000, to determine future security requirements and work towards their realization, she said.
“We tried to increase our security, whether it was with cameras, increased guards. We have challenges to overcome, whether it’s mental health or around the site.
“So having someone who has experience in a number of hospitals, a number of DHBs, we felt that we needed that expertise that was not available locally. “
The safety of everyone at Taranaki DHB is paramount, Campbell said.
“We continually assess and monitor the security needs of our hospitals to help prevent or minimize incidents and keep our staff, patients and everyone at our sites safe. “
A report from Stoks Limited is expected by the end of August.
