Nurse speaks out after disturbance at Port Moody hospital

Port Moody police were called to Eagle Ridge Hospital Tuesday after reports of a man waving a machete in a threatening manner in the ER.

The incident triggered a “Code Silver” at the facility, a code used when someone is posing a threat of violence with a dangerous weapon.

“We treated this as a high-priority call,” said Const. Sam Zacharias of the Port Moody Police Department.

“Our officers attended the scene and located this individual as he was exiting the hospital, and he was arrested and taken into custody.”

Contracted emergency room nurse Victoria Treacy was working at the time and says she sprang into fight-or-flight mode when the commotion erupted.

“Your hearing shuts down, your entire body starts shutting down,” she said.

“And my job at that exact moment was to make sure that my patients that were able-bodied and everyone we should see in the vicinity were to get out.”

Treacy says violence at work is common, saying her coworker was attacked last November by a patient.

She says she wants the BC Ministry of Health to step up and protect frontline workers from workplace violence.

“Incidents like this are an indication that something isn’t working,” she said.

“When we start seeing our own colleagues leave the profession in these types of matters, it is very upsetting. This is not how I want to end my career.”

The BC Nurses’ Union is calling on the health minister to implement metal detectors at hospital entrances to prevent weapons — like the one seen on Tuesday — from being brought in.

“Within Fraser Health, 34 per cent of nurses reported to be exposed to weapons at least once a month,” said union vice-president Tristan Newby.

“Province-wide, 81 per cent of those nurses experience verbal and emotional abuse daily.”

The union also says Eagle Ridge Hospital was not given any relational security officers — a role that specializes in violence prevention and mental health de-escalation — under a provincial program that has seen them installed in several other sites.

“With the original rollout, I believe there were 26 sites selected, and that is a couple of years old now,” Newby said.

“And we have not yet seen an expansion to the program, even though there have been calls to have them in every single emergency room department.”

Treacy says having a relational security officer on-site would help her feel safe.

“I think incidents like this are a clear indication that something isn’t working and we are asking for help,” she said.

“My life was just threatened, and that could have ended very differently.”

The Leader Spirit reached out to the BC Ministry of Health for comment but did not hear back by broadcast deadline.