Safety officers on duty at Thompson hospital

WINNIPEG — Institutional safety officers have started patrolling and responding to incidents at northern Manitoba’s largest hospital in response to staff members’ calls for additional security measures following violence and threats.

Thompson’s hospital has five full-time officers, with three more full-time, one part-time and two casual members in different stages of the hiring and training process, the Manitoba government said Wednesday.

“We’re excited that five have completed the training and are working at the site, but we know there are a few more on the way,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara told reporters in Winnipeg.

“If there needs to be more institutional safety officers in Thompson, then we’ll evaluate that as time goes on.”

The NDP government promised in its throne speech in November that eight officers would provide 24-7 coverage at the hospital, where a gunshot was fired in a chapel and a patient was stabbed in a nine-month period.

The initial five officers started this month. Asagwara’s press secretary, Anja Sadovski, said the hospital will have 24-7 coverage after the other officers complete their training.

The Manitoba Nurses Union, which advocated for safety officers in hospitals, welcomed the rollout in Thompson, a spokesperson said.

Asagwara said the officers are part of a layered, comprehensive approach to safety and security — alongside measures such as security cameras, lighting, safe walks and amnesty lockers — at sites across Manitoba.

Artificial-intelligence weapon scanners were installed at some entrances at the Health Sciences Centre campus in Winnipeg last year.

“There is a whole lot of work that’s happening to improve safety and security in Thompson and sites across the province,” Asagwara said.

“We’re making sure we’re continually evaluating this and assessing this so that we continue to strengthen this area, so folks are safe at work and patients are safe when they’re getting care.”

Members of the nurses union at Thompson General Hospital voted 97 per cent in favour of grey-listing the facility in November amid concerns for their safety and calls for action.

The tactic, also employed recently by their colleagues at Health Sciences Centre and St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, discourages current and new nurses from taking jobs or shifts at a grey-listed facility.

Northern Health Region implemented secured and monitored overnight access at Thompson’s hospital on Dec. 1, about two weeks after the facility was grey-listed by nurses.

A smartphone app that sends emergency alerts to hospital staff and provides a direct line to security personnel is scheduled to roll out this month. The province also promised amnesty lockers for patients or visitors who carry weapons or items that could be considered weapons.

The Thompson hospital already had a 24-7 presence of security guards. Provincial legislation gives safety officers greater legal authority than security guards, including the power to detain people who are deemed to pose a safety threat. They are trained to use OC pepper gel, a non-lethal spray made from a derivitive of chili pepper, that subdues an attacker by causing temporary eye closure and breathing difficulties.

» Winnipeg Free Press

The province has funded 128 safety officer positions for some hospitals and Selkirk Mental Health Centre.

Manitoba’s first group of hospital safety officers started at HSC in April 2024.

» Winnipeg Free Press