BRANDON — Brandon Regional Health Centre will have 16 institutional safety officers patrolling the hospital in an effort to improve safety and security, Justice Minister Matt Wiebe says.
The details from Wiebe came last week after the province announced that the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre would have officers on the job.
“They work closely with law enforcement,” Wiebe said in an interview. “It is an expanded set of tools that they would have beyond what a normal security guard would have. And ultimately, they’re working closely with law enforcement, with the health department, and with health institutions to ensure that they’re keeping people safe.”
According to the Police Services Act, institutional safety officers are responsible for maintaining the safety and security of hospitals and post-secondary institutions. They are trained in public safety and crime prevention, various deescalation techniques, enforcement of provincial laws, arrests, searches and seizures, use of force and officer safety, note-taking, interview basics, court preparation and mental health awareness.
The officers will have an “expanded scope and expanded authority” compared to security guards, Wiebe said, adding that they will be allowed to carry a baton and pepper gel. The province amended the Police Services Act in the fall of 2021 to allow post-secondary institutions and health-care facilities to establish institutional security officer positions.
“Quite frankly, this was something that was passed in the legislature…yet no work was actually done to train these folks, support these folks, and get them out into our healthcare system. So, it’s a big need and it’s something that the previous government didn’t get done,” Wiebe said, adding that many new officers are coming out of Assiniboine Community College’s training program.
Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson welcomed the announcement of the officers for Brandon’s hospital. She said that the union has been advocating for institutional safety officers for a while after seeing an increase in violence towards staff in healthcare facilities.
“If staff are not safe, then neither are patients, and neither are visitors or families, so it’s really an effort to keep everyone in our health-care facilities safe,” Jackson said.
She added that the union has heard from its Brandon members that there is increased violence in the emergency department of the hospital. Jackson said across the province, the violence is usually related to someone being under the influence of substances, but wait times that have grown longer have also created an atmosphere of tensions running high.
“If you’re sitting in the emergency department for 14 hours waiting to see a doctor, tempers get short,” Jackson said. “So, we’re just starting to see things happening that we wouldn’t have seen probably 10 years ago, but with the state of our healthcare system we’re seeing.”
Still, the union president said that because the safety officers have more powers and some policing ability, that they will be able to deal with situations more effectively than security guards can. And because it’s difficult for the union to track violent incidences against its members in a large facility because of the structure of the reporting system, Jackson hopes that the reports of safety officers will provide helpful data.
“I’m hoping that this will actually give us a more detailed idea of what’s happening and where we’re seeing the violence and what it is,” she said.
Meanwhile, a Shared Health spokesperson said that the initial hires for the Brandon hospital will participate in training session in May and June.
Shared Health also added that the safety officers have security guard licensing but with additional training for health-care environments. The officers will be able accept a mental health patient from police and “secure and protect them” until seen by health-care professionals.
While Shared Health did not specifically address question about whether the 16 safety officers are in addition to the existing security guards, the provincial health authority said that they expect many people already working as part of the hospital’s security staff to apply for safety officer positions.
“While the overall complement of security team members is expected to remain constant, the enhanced training and authority of ISOs will improve the safety of staff, patients and visitors at BRHC,” the statement said.
More than 100 ISOs positions will be filled, with successful candidates who have completed training and testing posted at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, St. Boniface Hospital, Victoria General Hospital, Brandon Regional Health Centre and Selkirk Mental Health Centre.
— Brandon Sun