Female patient to be charged with assault on Grace nurse

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This article was published 09/04/2025 (200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A woman is facing an assault charge after a nurse was attacked by a patient in Grace Hospital’s emergency room last month.

The suspect was reported to be verbally abusive prior to the assault, which was reported to the Winnipeg Police Service at about 4:15 a.m. on March 26, spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said.

“It escalated into a physical assault on the nurse,” McKinnon said.

She said hospital security staff removed the woman from the hospital.

Police found the woman outside the hospital, possibly in a bus shelter, and took her into custody.

“It’s not uncommon for police to be called to one of the (city’s) hospitals for either a disruptive, aggressive or assaultive individual,” McKinnon said.

She was not aware of what led to the verbal abuse and assault, nor did she know the woman’s status in the ER.

The woman, who has not yet been formally charged with assault, was released on an undertaking. Police did not release the ages of the victim or suspect.

The Manitoba Nurses Union, based on information provided by a member, said the nurse was “violently” attacked by a patient.

Union president Darlene Jackson said Tuesday that violence against health-care workers is “incredibly underreported.”

She said nurses typically “move on” and see to the next patient after being assaulted, but the impacts stay with them.

“That’s almost the expected culture in health care — that you are just going to take what’s dished out and move on because patients need to be cared for,” Jackson said.

She said some nurses in the past have been discouraged from filing charges against patients.

Jackson said additional security measures in hospitals, including an expansion of institutional safety officers, are needed.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said evaluations of safety and security at health-care sites are taking place.

Any decisions on potential measures are “site dependent,” Asagwara said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca