Meth psychosis, weapons make ER at HSC ‘dangerous place most days’ Aggression, addictions take toll on patient care, nurse tells Free Press By: Chris Kitching Posted: 5:26 PM CST Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 Last Modified: 8:21 PM CST Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 Updates

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A nurse who works in the Health Sciences Centre adult emergency room has likened it to a “danger zone” where they’ve lost count of assaults or threats — sometimes involving weapons — against staff.

The nurse, who was granted anonymity by the Free Press, said violence and volatile patients contribute to high levels of burnout and stress for ER staff who already had high workloads.

“It’s too frequent to tell you how often (violence) happens,” the employee said. “Substance-induced psychosis (in patients) has rapidly increased. It’s out of control.”

The nurse, who described working conditions in Manitoba’s busiest ER as “chaos,” pleaded for change from Shared Health, which runs HSC, and the provincial government.

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“It’s emotionally draining,” the nurse said. “I feel like a robot. I don’t feel like I’m giving the care to patients that they deserve, solely because I’m so exhausted myself.”

Shared Health said a preliminary review found 15 “violent events” were reported by ER nursing and support staff in 2024, down from 27 reports in 2023, said the spokesperson, who attributed the decrease to new security measures.

The nurse said violence is documented in patients’ charts, but official incident reports are rarely filled out and submitted. “Who has time?” they said.

The NDP vowed to begin “fixing” health care in Manitoba when elected in October 2023, saying it will take time to do so.

“I feel like they made a lot of promises, and they haven’t really made a difference,” the nurse said. “Not for us. It’s gotten worse, not better.”

HSC’s adult ER is often short-staffed, with up to six patients to every nurse at busier times, the employee said.

Dr. Shawn Young, chief operating officer of HSC, recently said the ER’s baseline is 24 to 25 nurses per shift, but staffing levels are frequently around 21 to 22 nurses.

The nurse said a daily total of 150 to 200 patients is typical. Shared Health’s annual report said the adult ER recorded nearly 57,824 visits in the 2023-24 fiscal year, the highest total since 2019-20.

Of those, 20 per cent were admitted and 28 per cent left without being seen.

“It’s too frequent to tell you how often (violence) happens.”

The nurse said some admitted patients are forced to wait long periods in ER treatment spaces because a bed is not available on a unit.

“When we have severe ‘access block,’ the people in the waiting room are out there for 12, 18, 24 hours,” the nurse said.

“Hallway medicine was abolished, and some days we don’t have a choice. We have to put patients in our hallway. It’s not great for patient care.”

The NDP has promised to train and hire hundreds of additional nurses, improve efforts to retain staff, reduce ER waits and change the culture in health care, after seven years of Tory governance.

Health-care workers continued to report understaffing, heavy workloads or low morale in recent surveys. Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said last month the workers’ concerns are taken seriously.

“We are listening to front-line health-care workers,” Asagwara said.

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The nurse said their work-life balance is more work than life. They said a lot of ER nurses choose to work overtime on top of their usual 12-hour shifts.

“I personally don’t like to think of my colleagues drowning at work. If I have gas left in my tank, I get up and go to work,” the employee said. “We just tough it out because somebody has to take care of people.”

Last year, a Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions survey of almost 5,600 nurses found about 90 per cent had experienced some level of burnout.

Half of the respondents said they had a near-miss or patient safety incident in the previous six months due to understaffing and high patient loads.

A critical incident was declared after a patient died while waiting in HSC’s ER last month. Shared Health is investigating the circumstances.

A variety of emotional well-being initiatives are available to staff at work and via an online provincial hub, a Shared Health spokesperson said. A clinical nurse mentor role was added to the adult ER.

“We are always working to improve workplace conditions and support staff who work hard every day to take care of patients,” a spokesperson wrote in an email. “Shared Health is continuously working to maintain staff well-being and foster a healthy workplace environment.”

Personal safety has been a growing concern for HSC staff. Asagwara recently said AI weapons detectors will be used at the entrances to the adult and children’s ERs, and the crisis response centre starting Friday.

“I feel sorry the state of the province’s hospital is a danger zone, a war zone almost.”

The nurse, who praised the security staff who work in the ER, said a trial of detectors last summer made them feel safer.

“The hospital is no place for knives and chains and guns and screwdrivers,” they said.

People can leave weapons in amnesty lockers at HSC.

The nurse was troubled by the number of ER patients who are high on drugs or in “meth psychosis” when they arrive.

“The violence and the aggression towards staff from people that are out of their mind because of the drug they’ve used, it’s a dangerous place most days,” the nurse said.

Some are put in leather restraints and sedated because they are a danger to themselves and everyone around them, the employee said.

“I feel sorry the state of the province’s hospital is a danger zone, a war zone almost,” they said. “The actual care of patients seems lost sometimes because of the sheer volume of addictions and aggression.”

The nurse hopes Manitoba can find a way to “get a handle on” the drug crisis and homelessness. They said some homeless people seek warmth or safety in the ER so often that staff know them by name.

“They’re there because there is nowhere else for them to go. It’s heartbreaking,” the nurse said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.