Another hospital, another grey-listing

Nurses at Seven Oaks General Hospital are considering a grey-list vote over concerns about violence and the safety of staff and patients.

Nurses at three other Manitoba hospitals — Health Sciences Centre, St. Boniface and Thompson — voted in favour of grey-listing those facilities in recent months.

“We’re just in that period where they’ve come and asked for permission, and the board has granted permission to move ahead… with getting recommendations ready and looking at holding a vote with their membership,” Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said about Seven Oaks nurses Thursday.

The nurses’ concerns and recommendations for improvements will be presented to their employer when finalized.

“It’s very much along the same lines as St. Boniface Hospital — violence towards front-line workers, wait times, the staffing issues in urgent care, the staffing issues throughout their entire building,” Jackson said. “It’s really a lot of patient care and patient safety issues.”

Grey-listing is a union tactic that discourages nurses from seeking work at a facility, and presses health authorities to take action in response to members’ concerns. The action is considered a last resort, the nurses union has said.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said violence against health-care workers is unacceptable, and the government has a zero-tolerance approach.

“We take safety and security of health-care workers, nurses, patients and visitors very seriously. I think our track record shows that,” Asagwara said.

The minister pointed to several recent improvements at Seven Oaks and other hospitals.

“We don’t really see an end goal here. Our goal is to make sure that we continually evaluate and assess the safety and security concerns that nurses have, and take steps consistently to address those concerns in a meaningful way,” Asagwara said.

Seven Oaks General Hospital published an updated statement on its website about a week ago regarding its security measures, which include a 24-7 security presence and a safe walk program for staff.

Recent steps include additional secured access points, upgraded lighting in parking areas, an urgent violent care prevention task force and amnesty lockers, where patients and visitors can place weapons or potential weapons.

Surveillance camera coverage upgrades are underway. An app, known as SAFE, that sends emergency notifications to staff, will be rolled out.

Nurses at HSC and Thompson enacted grey-listing at those facilities last year, while seeking security or other improvements. Discussions are ongoing, after the hospitals introduced or promised to introduce additional measures, Jackson said.

HSC’s recent steps include adding more institutional safety officers, a 24-7 police presence, weapon scanners at some public entrances, improved visitor screening and the SAFE app.

ISOs were recently added at Thompson’s hospital, which has also introduced a security checkpoint at its main entrance.

Nurses at St. Boniface voted in favour of grey-listing that hospital in February. The measure has not yet been enacted amid ongoing discussions with the employer, Jackson said. ISOs, the SAFE app and parkade patrols are among additional security measures at St. Boniface Hospital.

Asagwara said the NDP’s 2026-27 budget contains $5 million for additional safety and security improvements, plus funding for additional health-care workers at Seven Oaks and other hospitals.

ISOs are not in use at Seven Oaks. Asagwara said the government is open to exploring ways to “further improve” safety and security, using an evidence-informed approach.

The minister also cited the need to address safety and security concerns in communities.

“There are some real sort of fundamental root challenges that are exacerbating what we’re seeing in hospitals that we know we need to address, and our government is taking action on,” Asagwara said.

The minister sent a letter to the MNU this month to reassure the union that the security measures implemented at Manitoba hospitals are permanent.

Last summer, Asagwara and Justice Minister Matt Wiebe wrote to federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser to support calls for Criminal Code amendments that would include assaults against health-care workers as an aggravating factor during sentencing.

A second letter was sent to Fraser this week, a government spokesperson said.

MNU has said nurses in hospitals across Manitoba have expressed concerns about the increasing frequency of violence and threats against them.

Jackson said a nurse at St. Anthony’s General Hospital in The Pas was punched in the head by a patient, while triaging the person, on Sunday.

The assault was unprovoked, she said.

An RCMP spokesperson said officers were called to the hospital shortly after 7 p.m. They arrested a 45-year-old woman for assault.

The suspect was released on conditions with a pending court date in June. The 37-year-old female victim suffered minor injuries, the RCMP spokesperson said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca