Workers faced violence from patient in mental health unit
Southlake Regional Health Centre, in Newmarket Ontario, was fined $80,000 following an incident which occurred in January 2019.
The public hospital and healthcare facility, which provides mental health services under the Ontario Mental Health Act, pleaded guilty and were fined in the provincial offences court. The court imposed an additional 25 per cent victim surcharge, equivalent to $20,000. This brings the total fine up to $100,000.
The incident took place in Southlake’s emergency department, in the Mental Health and Wellness Area Unit (MHWA). The MHWA is an emergency psychiatric assessment area. On the day of the incident, a patient was brought to the unit by a York Regional police officer. This patient was flagged as being a moderate violence risk, and was placed in the MHWA.
The report of the incident notes that the patient then proceeded to demonstrate escalating behaviour. In the MHWA, there is a freely accessible common area in front of the nursing station. To communicate from the station to the common area, staff must open the door. On that day, two workers attempting to enter the nursing station were struck by the patient, resulting in serious injuries to both workers.
Following an investigation, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development found that though the facility had implemented some policies relating to workplace violence, there remained several hazards, including: No effective means of communication between the nursing station and the common area; No procedure for more questions when admitting patients around their history of violence; and no procedure in place for address the hazard of an escalating patient in the common area, notably around accessing the common area under these particular circumstances.
The MoL says that: “Pursuant to section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Southlake has a legal duty as an employer to take every reasonable precaution in the circumstances for the protection of its workers. This includes protection against workplace violence.” Furthermore, “Southlake failed, as an employer, to take the reasonable precaution of establishing effective means of communication between workers in the nursing station and persons in the common area of the MHWA, contrary to section 25(2)(h) of the act.”
Lastly, it said that “Southlake failed, as an employer, to take the reasonable precaution of developing and/or establishing a procedure for the safe entry to and/or egress from the common area of the MHWA when a person is presenting with escalating behaviour, contrary to section 25(2)(h) of the act.”
