B.C. nursing student attacked with knife during first clinical placement: union

A student nurse was attacked with a knife during her first clinical experience at Vancouver General Hospital on Thursday, the president of the B.C. Nurses' Union says.

The Vancouver Police Department said officers responded to the scene around 9 a.m. following reports of an assault inside the hospital, which left the 37-year-old victim with non-life-threatening injuries.

Vancouver police spokesman Sgt. Steve Addison said a 48-year-old man, who was a patient at the hospital, was arrested.

Addison said the suspect was later released from custody and has gone into the secure care of the hospital as he required further medical and psychiatric care.

Adriane Gear, president of the B.C. Nurses' Union, said the attack is a "terrifying incident" not only for the injured nursing student but also for other staff.

Gear said the incident "serves as a huge wake-up call" not only for Vancouver Coastal Health but for any health authority. 

“Nurses are exposed to violence on a daily basis, and it doesn't feel like to my members that the employer does a whole lot,” said Gear. 

Moving forward, Gear said the union is calling for some changes to be enforced to ensure nurses’ safety, including hiring more relational security officers across the province. 

The B.C. government said it had hired 320 new relational security officers throughout the province in 2023 as part of an updated health care security model.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a statement that the hiring "will significantly improve the safety" of health-care facilities and help them "better retain and recruit health workers."

But Gear said while relational security officers are working in some facilities, they're not at all hospitals across B.C. 

Nurses also need to have a better system for reporting incidents and following up, Gear added.

“We know that there are many members that experience violence and aggression and they don't report because whenever they do report, there's not appropriate followup,” said Gear. 

Gear said many things need to be looked into following the attack, such as safety measures in place for handling the patient.

"If this patient did have a history of violence, was there an appropriate care plan to make sure to keep people safe? And so these are things that the investigation will reveal," said Gear. 

Vancouver Coastal Health said the health care worker is now recovering at home.

"The safety of patients and staff at all VCH facilities is a top priority and any form of violence is not tolerated. 

"VCH regularly reviews our practices and incidents to make sure we can tailor the best approaches to keep staff and patients safe," read the statement. 

Addison said police will forward a report to Crown counsel to recommend charges.