THUNDER BAY — Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is in discussions with Thunder Bay Police about extending the arrangement for police to provide security in the emergency department.
TBPS officers were first assigned there in mid-2022, at a significant cost to the hospital, in response to an increase in assaults against staff.
New data released by TBRHSC confirms that a dramatic reduction in violence since then is still being observed.
Between April 2023 and February 2024 there were 16 reported assaults against emergency department personnel, compared with 33 incidents in the same period a year earlier.
The hospital previously reported that from April to June 2022 – prior to the deployment of police at the hospital the following month – there were 80 violent incidents, while in the same three months of 2023 there were only 10.
A statement from TBRHSC on Monday attributed the continuing reduction in assaults "in part" to the police presence.
The hospital said its current contract with TBPS is set to expire soon, and that "continuation of this service is pending discussion with internal parties and the Thunder Bay Police Service."
TBRHSC, which also uses security guards, implemented a number of internal measures during the COVID-19 pandemic when the rate of assaults against emergency department staff worsened.
The number of violent incidents rose from 138 in 2019 to 213 in 2021, with more than half of that total involving physical violence.
CEO Rhonda Crocker Ellacott said last year: "One is too many . . . We will continue on these efforts to get to zero . . . (we will also work hard to) change things to have staff feel comfortable and supported at work, and ensure that there is just zero tolerance for any type of violent incident in the department and in the hospital."
She added that staff have indicated strongly that they want police to continue to provide security.
"It's money that I'd like to be spending in a different way on front-line health care, but it's something that you can't apologize for in terms of trying to create a safe environment," Crocker Ellacott said.
A hospital spokesperson previously stated that the deployment of police was costing TBRHSC about $60,000 a month when police filled all shifts, but that the cost fluctuated depending on need, resource availability, and staffing.
