Health New Zealand, Te Whatu Ora, could well be described as the possum in the headlights of every government over the past many decades, struggling to avoid the oncoming cars from the left and right of the centreline.

The New Zealand health system itself is in great need of focus and fiscal attention.

What’s wrong with our society when we’re continually talking about beefing up security for those at the frontline of our public health service? I find myself cringing at the news that another of our busiest hospitals is once again under the spotlight with staff safety issues.

Health New Zealand say that they’re set to increase security at Middlemore Hospital’s Emergency Department in the coming weeks after an attack on a nurse last Monday. The impatient patient, attempted to strangle an ED nurse, and a 23-year-old man has been charged accordingly.

There’ve been many other incidents of concern. The incident comes just nine days after another nurse was hospitalised with stab wounds following a callout to a property in Rotorua.

Our Nurses, doctors, administration and reception staff are already under immense pressure to perform in light of successive government’s hell-bent, maniacal focus on cost reduction.

The Health New Zealand Chief Clinical Officer, Richard Sullivan, says that “no level of violence is acceptable” and it intends to increase security at Middlemore Hospital’s ED in the coming weeks to send a clear message that hospitals are no place for aggression.

This is of course, is the reaction and response that you and I would not only expect – but demand for those at the frontline of public healthcare – but is it the right answer?

You’ve seen how ineffective security is at the front doors of our supermarkets. Will any presence of woefully ineffective security at the front doors of the country’s emergency departments, provide any form of deterrent to those who for whatever reason, decide to have a verbal or physical festering outburst, with the very people that are there to help them?

We don’t want to see police resources used for the security of our public health staff, but what will work?

Is it time to give our security staff better training and the powers to restrain and contain those who do nothing but exacerbate the fraying nerves of our healthcare professionals?

The time to do more for our healthcare professionals, is now – and even now is proving to be a little too late.

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