Although nursing staff is aware of the risks associated with dealing with some of B.C.'s most volatile youth at a local Burnaby facility, the B.C. Nurses' Union says not enough is being done to ensure their safety.
Last year, 25 staff members working at Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre, which has a forensics unit dealing with B.C.'s most violent offenders between the ages of 12 and 17 years, were injured. One worker was punched in the face as recently as Feb. 21.
Jewels Bainbridge has been a nurse for more than 25 years and worked at the Maples centre for 10 years, but after a violent incident she left two-and-a-half years ago. Her previous experience includes working in forensics, in a women’s jail and another jail in Vancouver.
“I was attacked on the job by a youth and have not worked for nearly two-and-a-half years now,” Bainbridge told the NOW. “I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD because of it. It was not just that incident, working there for 10 years, I was subjected it constantly over and over again in that type of environment.”
Bainbridge is now receiving new training with WorkSafeBC so she can nurse in a different setting.
“Personally, I would like to see, one of my motivations in this, is number 1 make it safer for staff,” she said. “My second priority is to make this a centre of excellence for these children. Not all of them are lost causes. There are lots of professional people, lots of skilled people. If they weren’t so busy watching their backs, staying safe, surviving – there’s no time and no energy for proper psychiatric care.”
Bainbridge was behind getting WorkSafeBC into Maples, but says all of the work orders have been ignored by management. However, on Friday Feb. 28, Maples staff did receive panic buttons.
“These panic alarms, when you push the button it makes noise but if you take your finger off the button there’s no noise,” she said. “You can’t keep your finger on the alarm if a kid is attacking you, or knocks it out of your hand.”
The B.C. Nurses’ Union said more needs to be done to ensure safety.
"Staff are very vulnerable there," Debra McPherson, union president, told the Burnaby NOW. "They don't have a good communications systems or any security really at the facility."
Maples is split into three units. There is the Dala program, a six-bed residential treatment program for youth with disorders of thought, mood or anxiety. It has 14 staff. The second unit is the response program, which has 18 staff helping youth with behavioural difficulties. It's a non-residential program option for youth living in the Lower Mainland.
The Crossroads Care Program is an eight-bed unit to help youth with severe conduct disorder, often associated with mental health disorders such as Tourette's Syndrome and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, among others. It also includes youth with psychiatric disorders who require care in a secure setting. It serves youth who are unfit to stand trial or are found not criminally responsible for a crime due to a mental disorder. There are currently two youth in this program at Maples.
McPherson said the employer, the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development, could take steps to ensure staff's safety. She says the union has repeatedly requested personal alarms, security cameras and safe staffing levels, but the ministry has ignored them.
"We have many nurses who are severely physically and emotionally traumatized by these events," she said. "We're asking for support from the management. More than anything, we want management to back up its staff. It's not right that this should be happening and they're not doing something."
Although facilities such as Maples often result in staff getting attacked, in this case there are steps management can take to mitigate them, McPherson stressed.
"What nurses tell me is even when there's full staffing, it's inadequate," she said, "for the types of clients that are there, for the type of building it is."
McPherson said more must be done by way of security to ensure staff and patient safety.
McPherson also noted CBC uncovered a number of WorkSafeBC orders to increase security, as well, over the last year and Maples has not complied.
In response to the concerns raised by the union, Minister of Children and Family Development Stephanie Cadieux said she's spoken with the minister responsible for WorkSafeBC, and with the manager of Maples.
"As a result of these conversations, I have directed my deputy minister to take action that will ensure that the issues related to staff safety are addressed," she said in a statement sent to the NOW. "This includes concerns raised by staff about the adequacy of panic alarm devices."
Cadieux noted that staff has access to two-way radios and personal panic alarms, despite the nurses’ union saying none of their nurses on staff actually have a panic alarm.
"However, after a briefing with them on these devices, I agree that the current approach is not adequate and the deputy will be working to address this matter as quickly as possible," she added.
Maples has one security person between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. who only patrols the grounds and has no contact with clients, according to the ministry.
Child and youth-care professionals on staff are the only ones who have direct contact with patients, such as psychiatric nurses and registered nurses - some with a dual degree.
In all, there are 103 full-time staff.
"Maples staff deal with some of the highest risk youth in B.C. who have significant psychiatric and behavioral difficulties - particularly within the Crossroads unit," said Sheldon Johnson, of the ministry, in an email to the NOW. "Ensuring the safety of our staff is of upmost importance to the ministry, and staff are made fully aware - before their first shift - of the nature of the population they will be working with."
Management plans are developed for each patient, including care and how to safely manage the youth, which are reviewed weekly, according to the ministry. Staff also receive training in non-violent crises intervention and are re-certified annually.
