BRHC to receive ‘institutional safety officers’

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Brandon Regional Health Centre will receive 16 “institutional safety officers” to patrol the hospital in an effort to improve safety and security, Justice Minister Matt Weibe, told the Sun.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/04/2024 (541 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon Regional Health Centre will receive 16 “institutional safety officers” to patrol the hospital in an effort to improve safety and security, Justice Minister Matt Weibe, told the Sun.

The details from Weibe came last week after the province announced that the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre would have officers on the job today.

“They work closely with law enforcement,” Weibe said in an interview. “It is an expanded set of tools that they would have beyond what a normal security guard would have. And ultimately, they’re working closely with law enforcement, with the health department, and with health institutions to ensure that they’re keeping people safe.”

The Brandon Regional Health Centre. (File)
The Brandon Regional Health Centre. (File)

According to the Police Services Act, institutional safety officers are responsible for maintaining the safety and security of hospitals and post-secondary institutions. They’re trained in public safety and crime prevention, various de-escalation techniques, enforcement of provincial laws, arrests, searches and seizures, use of force and officer safety, note-taking, interview basics, court preparation and mental health awareness.

The officers will have an “expanded scope and expanded authority” compared to security guards, Weibe said, adding that they will be allowed to carry a baton and pepper gel. The province amended the Police Services Act in the fall of 2021 to allow post-secondary institutions and health-care facilities to establish institutional security officer positions.

“Quite frankly, this was something that was passed in the legislature … yet no work was actually done to train these folks, support these folks, and get them out into our health-care system. So, it’s a big need and it’s something that the previous government didn’t get done,” Weibe said, adding that many new officers are coming out of Assiniboine Community College’s training program.

Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson welcomed the announcement of the officers for Brandon’s hospital. She said the union has advocated for institutional safety officers for a while, after seeing an increase in violence towards staff in health-care facilities.

“If staff are not safe, then neither are patients, and neither are visitors or families, so it’s really an effort to keep everyone in our healthcare facilities safe,” Jackson said.

She added that the union has heard from its Brandon members that there is increased violence in the emergency department of the hospital. Jackson said across the province, the violence is usually related to someone being under the influence of substances, but long wait times that have grown longer has also created an atmosphere of tensions running high.

“If you’re sitting in the emergency department for 14 hours waiting to see a doctor, tempers get short,” Jackson said. “So, we’re just starting to see things happening that we wouldn’t have seen probably 10 years ago.”

Still, the union president said that because the safety officers have more powers and some policing ability, they can deal with situations more effectively than security guards can. And, because it’s difficult for the union to track violent incidents against its members in a large facility due to the structure of the reporting system, Jackson hopes that reports made by safety officers will provide helpful data.

“I’m hoping that this will actually give us a more detailed idea of what’s happening, and where we’re seeing the violence and what it is,” she said.

Meanwhile, a Shared Health spokesperson told the Sun that the initial hires for the Brandon hospital will be trained in May and June.

Shared Health also added that the safety officers have security guard licensing, but with additional training for health-care environments. The officers canaccept a mental health patient from police and “secure and protect them” until seen by health-care professionals.

While Shared Health did not specifically address the Sun’s question about whether the 16 safety officers are in addition to the existing security guards, the provincial health authority said they expect many people who already work as part of the hospital’s security staff will apply for safety officer positions.

“While the overall complement of security team members is expected to remain constant, the enhanced training and authority of ISOs will improve the safety of staff, patients and visitors at BRHC,” the statement said.

It’s expected 105 ISOs positions will be filled, with successful candidates who have completed training and testing posted at the Health Sciences Centre, St. Boniface Hospital and Victoria General Hospital in Winnipeg, and the Brandon Regional Health Centre and Selkirk Mental Health Centre.

» gmortfield@brandonsun.com

» X: @geena_mortfield

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