Charges pending after health-care worker assaulted at Edmonton hospital

Union officials say a violent assault on a health-care worker at an Edmonton psychiatric hospital highlights the need for improved supports and safeguards for front-line workers exposed to violence on the job.

Police say charges are pending after a man was attacked on Christmas Day at Alberta Hospital Edmonton. The 300-bed addiction and mental health facility is operated by Recovery Alberta in the city’s northeast.

In a statement, officials with the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees described the assault as a violent workplace attack which left an essential health-care worker injured and left staff at the facility traumatized.

Details on where the assault occurred — or the two patients allegedly involved in the attack — are limited.

In a statement to CBC Wednesday, police said officers were called just before 2 a.m. on December 25 to respond to an assault inside the hospital.

A man was taken from the scene with serious, non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Police said two male suspects were arrested and charges are pending. The injured worker has since been released from hospital, police said.

In a statement to CBC Friday, officials with Recovery Alberta said a staff member was seriously injured during the incident involving two patients, and emergency protocols were immediately activated.

“Recovery Alberta treats workplace violence with the utmost seriousness, and the safety of our staff and patients is a top priority. While incidents of this nature are rare, any occurrence is taken extremely seriously. "

The facility, once managed by Alberta Health Services, has been operated by Recovery Alberta after the provincial government began a sweeping restructuring of Alberta’s health-care system.

The agency said it would not comment further out of respect for the investigation and the worker’s privacy.

“Our focus remains on supporting the injured employee and all affected staff, while ensuring patients continue to receive safe, appropriate care.”

'Incredibly disappointed'

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees has criticized how the assault was handled by Recovery Alberta.

According to the union, hospital administration failed to properly report the incident.

“We are incredibly disappointed at Recovery Alberta’s failure to follow established processes to report serious incidents,” the union said in a statement to CBC Thursday.

“The employer did not comply with critical steps that immediately follow such incidents, which then delayed outreach and support for AUPE members.”

The union said it is committed to ensuring that its workers have full access to supports when faced with occupational health and safety issues, including workplace violence.

“It is an unacceptable reality that health-care workers are frequently victims of workplace violence, subject to both psychological and physical trauma," AUPE said in the statement.

“It is a pervasive problem that places even further hardship on workers while they struggle with short staffing and high workloads.”

United Nurses of Alberta, Local 183 President Michael Perry described the attack as a shocking incident that left workers at the hospital and beyond concerned for their safety.

“We want to express our sympathies definitely to not only the worker who was involved, but the workers who have been affected by this incident,” Perry said in an interview Friday.

“People become very concerned. It happened there. Could it happen to us?"

Perry said he looks forward to the results of the an investigation by provincial workplace safety officials. He said the union hopes the review will provide improved clarity about how the worker was harmed and lead to recommendations for the prevention of similar attacks.

Officials with Occupational Health and Safety and Rick Wilson, Alberta's minister of mental health and Addiction, have not responded to requests for comment.

Perry echoed the AUPE’s calls for improved support for workers affected by the assault.

While Recovery Alberta has promised to provide timely and accessible mental health services to staff, those supports were hampered by the agency’s new role as an addictions and mental health provider, Perry said.

The assault occurred while promised supports are not yet ready due to a slow transition for Recovery Alberta, he said.

'All too common'

Perry said the incident highlights the importance of timely reporting of workplace violence and mental health supports.

Violence in the workforce is pervasive in health-care settings, with workers often exposed to physical, psychological, and verbal abuse, Perry said.

Nursing and health-care unions across the country have tracked a concerning spike in such incidents since the COVID-19 pandemic. And the trend, Perry said, has continued as the system remains under strain.

“The threat of violence, the verbal violence, the psychological violence that happens in our workplaces in general is really a problem in our health-care system,” Perry said.

“It's all too common.”