August 22, 2024
Staff members and local MP Deb Frecklington have called for around-the-clock security at Kingaroy Hospital in the wake of the police shooting on August 9.
southburnett.com.au has been told police officers are called to incidents at Kingaroy Hospital “two to three times” a week, often to calm down patients suffering from mental health-related issues.
Other patients have become agitated simply while waiting in the Emergency Department.
Hospital employees and others, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the recent shooting at the hospital was only the latest in a string of incidents at the facility.
In another recent case, a police officer was forced to deploy pepper spray to defuse a confrontation.
And we have been told that people carrying weapons into the hospital is not unusual.
A security guard was positioned at Kingaroy Hospital for a few days after the police shooting on August 9 but staff members want to make a uniformed security presence a permanent fixture.
A Darling Downs Health spokesperson said Kingaroy Hospital has “ambassadors” stationed in the Emergency Department “to proactively maintain a safe and secure environment for everyone at the facility”.
“We continually assess how we can have an increased presence of security officers and ambassadors on the ground in our rural facilities,” the spokesperson said.
Quizzed about what “ambassadors” actually do, the spokesperson said the Queensland Health Ambassador Program meant “specifically recruited, covert healthcare security officers” were “embedded in clinical areas to work alongside the multidisciplinary team”.
“Ambassadors are patient-centred, empathetic, patient advocates who have a genuine desire to support patients and their families through their journey across a complex health system.”
Kingaroy Hospital is believed to have three “ambassadors”, working on a rotating roster.
* * *
Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington has repeatedly called for greater security at Kingaroy Hospital.
“The serious incident at the Emergency Department reinforces the need for permanent security,” Mrs Frecklington said this week.
“This is an issue which I have been highlighting for several years and on behalf of the hospital staff and patients, it is about time their safety was prioritised.
“This week in Parliament I have asked the Health Minister about the security arrangements at the hospital and I will keep advocating for full-time security in the Emergency Department and throughout the hospital.
“On behalf of the community, I would like to thank the hospital staff and the police who handled the recent situation so professionally.”
On Tuesday, Mrs Frecklington submitted a Question On Notice to Health Minister Shannon Fentiman:
In relation to Kingaroy Hospital will the Minister clarify:
(a) The number of Code Black emergency codes issued from 2019 until current (reported separately by year);
(b) Is there permanent security within the Emergency Department; and
(c) The security arrangements for the whole of the hospital.
The Minister must respond to the query within 30 days.
This is not the first time that Mrs Frecklington has highlighted the need for security at Kingaroy Hospital.
In 2002, she told State Parliament that nurses at the hospital believed the safety of patients and staff was at risk:
“There is no permanent security at the Kingaroy Hospital.
“The nurses have suffered physical, verbal and even sexual assault from patients. With no security, they tell me they feel extremely vulnerable and unsafe.
“There are ongoing concerns by the staff about the duress alarm system and its reliability. They do not know if the system works and this concern has been raised over and over since the new hospital was occupied.
“The nurses call Code Blacks but it has never been explained who will actually respond because there is no security. Does it fall to the wardsmen or does it fall to the local police? This is unclear and needs urgent attention. The Kingaroy Hospital needs that full-time security.”
Related articles:
