Werribee Mercy Hospital will compete for a share of a $20 million state government grant to tackle violence against hospital staff.
The state government has announced a health service violence prevention fund, and will allocate $20 million over four years – $10 million in grants to hospitals and $10 million for mental health services.
Mercy Health acting chief executive Elizabeth Murdoch said the hospital would apply for a share of the funding, with attacks against staff at Werribee Mercy Hospital on the rise. The hospital recorded 299 incidents of violence and aggression towards staff in the past two financial years, including 177 in 2014-15 alone – 76 physical assaults and 101 incidents of verbal aggression.
“Unfortunately, Werribee Mercy Hospital is experiencing an increase in violent and aggressive incidents toward staff, particularly in the emergency department,” Ms Murdoch said.
“The safety of our patients and staff is always our number one priority.
“We would use the state government funding to improve facilities and equipment, consistent with the funding guidelines,” she said.
The funding pool comes in response to a Victorian Auditor-General’s report, which found that nurses, doctors, paramedics and other healthcare workers faced particular risks because “they are at the frontline when it comes to dealing with people in stressful, unpredictable and potentially volatile situations.”
State Health Minister Jill Hennessy said hospitals and health services would need to complete a risk assessment when applying for the funding to ensure money was allocated to the highest-priority areas.
“Our hardworking doctors, nurses and hospital staff take care of us when we’re at our most vulnerable,” Ms Hennessy said.
“They don’t deserve to be the target of someone’s frustrations or aggression.
“The fund will help health services identify solutions to make their hospitals safer for their staff, for patients and for visitors.”
