The Nurses Organisation says Te Whatu Ora must provide a safe working environment for staff after another assault outside Christchurch Hospital. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
The attack on a student midwife outside Christchurch Hospital's birthing unit has highlighted concerns that have been raised for more than a decade, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) says.
The staff member was assaulted on the way to their car after leaving work at the Antigua Street unit in the central city, although the assault did not happen on hospital grounds.
Te Whatu Ora said staff safety was critical to the organisation, and the College of Midwives backed the efforts of Health New Zealand.
But NZNO Christchurch delegate Al Dietschin said the latest attack highlighted the fact that not nearly enough was being done to prevent assaults occurring.
"How many incidents do we need to have before the employer acts in the interest of staff in accordance with the Health and Safety Employment Act?" Dietschin said.
"They have to provide a safe work environment. They always say health and safety of staff is important, but these after-hours assaults continue to happen."
The Tū Waka Waipapa parking building opposite the hospital costs about $25 a day, which was unaffordable for most workers, he said.
Following previous assaults, the hospital now offered a minibus shuttle between 9pm and 1am, but staff often had to wait too long for it to arrive, Dietschin said.
"Staff are reportedly walking to their cars because they're made to wait 30 minutes or more after working the late shift for the shuttle to arrive. Staff don't feel safe walking to cars after their shift or early morning in the dark, but they're sometimes forced to."
Community midwives were now also limited to parking for five hours at the emergency department, which was shocking, Dietschin said.
"This used to be available for unlimited time. Now they're forced to ask core staff to relieve them in the middle of a patient's labour so they don't get fined. That's not good for the safety of their patients," he said.
"Staff only want safe after-hours parking close to hospital, and we don't want to break the bank for this to happen."
College of Midwives chief executive Alison Eddy said Health New Zealand was doing all it could to ensure the safety of staff.
"I understand that the facility does have security staff available to escort staff back to their cars, there's absolutely that provision in place," she said.
"I think sometimes people might have to wait a little bit to get access to that and people might feel they don't want to do that. But I understand the facility does everything it can to support the safety of its staff and does make that service available already, and in response to this attack... they've stepped up even more support and security to prevent any potential risks."
The attack highlighted the risks women faced in Aotearoa, Eddy said.
"It's a reflection sadly that we know females are at risk of violence and dark places around hospitals are risky places. That's just the reality of being a female, sadly, in this country. This facility is really aware of that and has done and is continuing to do everything it can to support the safety of everybody who works in those facilities," she said.
An email was circulated to staff outlining what had happened, although Health New Zealand would not share details with RNZ because it was not "public information".
Waitaha Canterbury director of operations Hamish Brown said the staffer involved was being "well supported".
"As a precaution we have increased security measures in this part of the campus to ensure staff, and others who work here, get to their vehicles safely at night," he said.
"We continue to remind staff, and others, to take appropriate safety precautions when they leave the hospital campus at night.
"At Health NZ, the safety and well-being of our staff, and other workers, is a critical part of delivering quality health care to New Zealanders. We take violence and aggression seriously and our people should expect to come to work and be safe. We encourage them to report all incidents of abuse and assault."
Police said the attack did not appear to have been reported to them.
"We encourage anyone who is the victim of an assault to make a report online or by calling 105 so police can make enquiries," a spokesperson said.
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