Friday, 3 March 2017

Latrobe Regional Hospital will benefit from additional safety measures to reduce and prevent violence through the second round of the Andrews Labor Government’s $20 million Health Service Violence Prevention Fund.

Member for Eastern Victoria Region today announced that Latrobe Regional Hospital has secured $11,000 in funding from the $20 million Health Service Violence Prevention Fund.

Hospitals and mental health services across the state will see significant safety and security upgrades, including additional CCTV, more personal duress devices and alarms, and new infrastructure such as security doors, windows and restricted access areas.
In Gippsland, Latrobe Regional Hospital will receive funding to upgrade CCTV systems to reduce risks to staff, clients, patients and visitors.

These projects build on the success of the first round of funding and continue to deliver on the Labor Government’s election promise to reduce violence in hospitals and mental health services by improving facilities and making them safer for staff, patients and visitors.

The Victorian Auditor-General’s Report into Occupational Health Violence Against Healthcare Workers found nurses, doctors, paramedics and other healthcare workers face particular risks because “they are at the frontline when it comes to dealing with people in stressful, unpredictable and potentially volatile situations.”

The Government is also funding a new public awareness campaign to reduce violence in Victorian hospitals as part of our plan to stop attacks against frontline health and mental health workers.

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Harriet Shing:

“Latrobe Regional Hospital workers, visitors and their patients will now be safer and more secure thanks to this funding.”

“Gippsland has an incredibly dedicated health and mental health workforce and all employees deserve to be safe and protected in the important work that they do.”

“I have zero tolerance for violence or aggression of any kind against our hardworking doctors, nurses and paramedics, and these improvements send a clear message that workplace violence is not on.”