NDP Labour Shadow Minister Nathaniel Teed is calling for more safety measures to be put in place, as the high volume of weapons came from just one entrance.

“The biggest concern here is that this is just one entrance out of fourteen entrances. So, we’re only catching items from that one entrance.”

The provincial government announced today that they added metal detectors to the emergency departments of other urban hospitals, including Saskatoon City Hospital, St. Pauls Hospital, Regina General Hospital and Pasqua Hospital. Metal detectors are to be installed in February at Prince Albert Victoria Hospital, Battlefords Union Hospital and Regina Urgent Care Centre.

SEIU West President Lisa Zunti says that installing metal detectors is a good start, but more needs to be done to ensure the safety of both patients and staff.

“A more comprehensive approach, we need consultation from the front-line workers that are in these situations and we need them to start now. This is nothing new, this has been going on for years and years, and with the increase in population in this province, the different types of street drugs we are seeing, more patients with complex conditions. We are only going to see an increase in this.”

Zunti also called out the government’s proposed phone line for health care workers to report incidents as a “snitch line” meant to target front line workers.

“In my experience, reporting in the health care system should go to root cause analysis. And it should go to ‘how do we make sure this does not happen again?’ I’ve seen a shift in the last few years where it has turned to an assignment of blame.”