Dubbo Hospital staff have faced violence or aggression on 14 occasions this year, down from 23 in 2017.
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Director of nursing Jenny Johnson says the Western NSW Local Health District has spent $2.2 million on a range of measures to increase security at “our hospitals”.
They include around-the-clock security staff, fixed and mobile duress alarms, staff training and CCTV cameras.
The state government has announced a security review of more than 220 public hospitals and health services ,which will be led by a former Labor government minister Peter Anderson.
The current government has spent $19 million improving CCTV systems in emergency departments and installing remote locking.
It has also invested $5 million in personal duress alarms worn by staff.
A social media campaign is promoting the message of “violence against health workers is never OK”.
State Member for Dubbo Toy Grant has welcomed the review.
“Unfortunately there are occasions when violent incidents happen at our hospitals and we need to stamp that out,” he said.
“Whether it be people under the influence of drugs, or frustrated patients or family members, we need to look at why these events are occurring and having a review is a terrific step towards curtailing the issue.”
Mrs Johnson said the 14 incidents reported by the end of November were not in the “most serious category”.
“In the past financial year, Dubbo Hospital has enhanced security across the hospital, including additional CCTV, duress alarms, security staff and access control,” she said.
The director told of 24/7 security surveillance with all departments able to be locked down to ensure “the safest possible environment for patients and staff”.
Mrs Johnson said in 2019 the hospital would be subject to mandatory auditing.
She said they would determine compliance with the security manual called Protecting People and Property: NSW Health Policy and Standards for Security Risk Management in NSW Health Agencies, work health and safety, and security legislation “to ensure continuous improvement in security risk management”.
A recent NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association survey found 47 per cent of 3100 respondents had been involved in an incident of violence in the previous week.
NSW Health Services Union secretary Gerard Hayes has called for hospital security officers to have special constable powers to “prevent health workers being treated like punching bags”.
