BNA renews call for stronger protections after attack

T he Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) is increasing surveillance and strengthening security on its wards after a patient struck a nurse in the Accident and Emergency Department on Wednesday night, renewing calls for tougher penalties for attacks on healthcare workers. The Barbados Nurses Association (BNA) said the incident has brought renewed attention to proposals for stronger legal protection submitted to the Ministry of Health last year, which it says have yet to receive an official response. The hospital confirmed that a male nurse was reportedly assaulted around 8 p. m. while attending to a patient. The person who struck him was another patient living with Alzheimer’s disease. QEH officials told Barbados TODAY that security measures were being bolstered, including increased surveillance and closer coordination between security personnel and hospital wards.

Management said it was doubling down on measures necessary to provide a safer environment for staff and patients. In a statement on Thursday, the hospital said it had taken immediate steps to strengthen security following the incident and had met with nursing personnel reporting for duty that morning to address their concerns. Chief executive officer Neil Clark reaffirmed the hospital’s zero-tolerance position on violence against healthcare workers and pledged support for the nurse involved. Meanwhile, BNA president Dr Fay Parris said the latest incident had again raised concerns about the protection of nurses and other healthcare professionals. “A policy brief was sent forward to the Ministry of Health on which we are still waiting for official response,” she told Barbados TODAY . Speaking from St Kitts, where she is attending a regional nursing conference, Parris said the association was investigating Wednesday’s…