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The province will begin its rollout of institutional safety officers at the Health Sciences Centre on Monday.
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Institutional safety officers (ISOs) are being brought in to help keep staff, patients and visitors safe at the city’s central hospital and campus, the province said in a release.
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“We fully support initiatives that increase the safety and security of people working, visiting and receiving care at hospitals across Manitoba,” Health minister Uzoma Asagwara said in the release, calling the move “long overdue and a significant step forward.”
The province said it intends to fill 105 ISO positions, for which training is ongoing, with eventual postings also at St. Boniface Hospital, Victoria General Hospital, Brandon Regional Health Centre, and Selkirk Mental Health Centre.
ISOs have legal authority to enforce and exercise powers under various provincial statutes and are already at work in a number of provincial facilities, the province noted, with training including crime prevention, de-escalation techniques, and mental health awareness. They have the power to perform search and seizures, make arrests, and use force in certain situations.
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The ISOs at HSC will carry pepper gel, which has a more targeted stream than pepper spray. The province said Shared Health and its partners will “evaluate the suitability of other equipment within a health-care setting.”
“We continue to do our due diligence on other safety initiatives as we work to balance the security needs of the facility with the continued need for HSC to be a welcoming space for those seeking care,” Dr. Shawn Young, HSC’s chief operating officer, said in the release.
In health-care facilities, ISOs can also accept a mental health patient from police and secure and protect them until seen by health-care professionals, the province noted, adding ISOs are a step in a broader plan to improve safety at HSC.
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