A nurse was attacked by a patient at Hillside Centre on Dec. 13.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
December 09, 2014 - 3:52 PM
KAMLOOPS - A nurse working at Royal Inland Hospital's Hillside Centre in Kamloops was allegedly attacked by a patient Sunday.
The event comes within days of a similar event between a patient and doctor at a Penticton hospital.
According to a media release from the B.C. Nurses' Union, an experienced nurse was grabbed by the hair and punched several times then thrown against a wall. She was treated by emergency room staff and is recovering at home.
Another nurse was attacked a year ago at the same facility. On Dec. 13, 2013, a mentally ill patient with a history of violent attacks punched a young nurse in the face, knocking her to the ground. It took eight staff members to pull the man off the nurse and the patient then assaulted an RCMP officer while being taken to jail in handcuffs.
“Nurses are assaulted almost daily in hospitals across BC,” B.C. Nurses’ Union President Gayle Duteil said. “In many cases, the assaults could be prevented with better staffing levels, on-site security personnel and alarm systems that work.”
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014