Where do drunks, dopers and assorted miscreants go to give people a hard time? Well, the Emergency Room, of course. When you are drunk or stoned, feeling lonely or unappreciated, there is nothing like taking out your frustrations on the hospital worker or caregiver.
It is believed that workplace violence, particularly with respect to hospitals, has increased as people grow increasingly frustrated from being out of work, losing their homes, drinking too much, fighting with their spouses, and all the other recreational forms of venting we tend to find socially unacceptable. It has been reported many times that violence against nurses and other caregivers at hospitals is commonplace across the country. A 2007 survey by UC San Francisco and other researchers found that nearly 40 percent of emergency room employees in California had been assaulted at work during the previous year. Ten percent of the Nurses in the Emergency Room were attacked in just the past week. These nurses are in the front line when it comes to violent outbursts in hospitals.
And let us not forget the violence in the hospital psychiatric wards. These violent incidents may actually be underreported, because hospital officials pressure nurses from reporting assaults in order to shield the institute from negative publicity, some claim. What is remarkable, is that many violent episodes are not reported because caregivers consider this abuse part of the job. Meanwhile, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times, certain hospitals have already taken steps to improve security, including installing metal detectors and posting armed police officers in emergency rooms.
It’s about time, I would think.
