NLHS explores idea of weapon detection systems in health-care facilities

Alex Kennedy · CBC News

· Posted: May 13, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services says it's exploring the thought of implementing limb detection systems astatine health-care facilities crossed the province, successful an effort to enactment up information for patients and staff. 

"Our hospitals are a microcosm of what's happening successful the community. So arsenic we spot things alteration successful our assemblage erstwhile it comes to information and safety, we're going to spot immoderate of that perchance spill into our sites," said Allison Collins, the wellness authority's provincial information operations manager.

"We're ever going to instrumentality proactive measures successful ensuring that our facilities are safe."

Collins says the systems tin instrumentality antithetic approaches, the astir common is akin to a metallic detector.

Hospitals successful different provinces person adopted artificial quality to surface and separate weapons from different items similar location keys.

Collins said NLHS is exploring what method could enactment champion successful Newfoundland and Labrador.

Currently, NLHS doesn't hunt for weapons.

Collins said an effort has been made to grow information measures since the wellness authorization merged into 1 from 4 determination wellness authorities successful 2023, but a timeline isn't successful spot close present for immoderate caller system. 

Next steps, she said, impact deciding which sites would spot the signifier implemented should it determination forward.

Violence successful wellness care

Yvette Coffey, president of the Registered Nurses' Union of Newfoundland and Labrador, said the interaction of convulsive incidents successful the health-care strategy continues to beryllium felt, and detecting weapons is just one portion of making buildings safer, but not the lone solution.

"On a regular basis, erstwhile radical are reporting for work, successful the backmost of their minds they're reasoning 'What bash I person to look today? What's coming done the door?'" Coffey said Monday.

"I can't locomotion into the Confederation Building present successful Newfoundland and Labrador without going done a metallic detector. But yet, astatine the aforesaid clip with rising incidents of unit successful the health-care strategy workplaces, we person nothing. The doors are unlocked."

Coffey said overmuch of the unit health-care unit look is verbal oregon affectional abuse, but that tin besides crook physical.

While it whitethorn not ever see extracurricular weapons, Coffey said tools wrong attraction centres besides go a threat.

"It could beryllium an IV rod from the hospital. It could beryllium a chair. That we've seen successful respective incidents. Recently, we had 1 incidental where, you know, determination was printers," she said. "The unit didn't get physically hurt, but the carnal trauma that goes on with an onslaught similar that is precise everlasting."

Coffey said determination are different steps that request to beryllium taken to assistance bounds unit successful wellness care, similar due grooming for information guards, de-escalation grooming for each front-line unit and charging those who prosecute successful unit nether the Criminal Code of Canada.

"If you battle idiosyncratic successful a market store, it is the aforesaid arsenic if you battle idiosyncratic successful a health-care setting," she said. "Once we commencement charging radical ... I deliberation determination volition beryllium a antithetic tune."

Coffey said the wellness authorization needs to proceed to find ways to marque hold times shorter, and that frustration can often magnitude to a diligent lashing retired physically oregon emotionally.

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