The President of the Registered Nurses Union is calling once again for greater measures to address violence in the province’s health care system after an incident last week that saw staff running for safety.

Yvette Coffey says staffing and supports for those in the health care system are two major issues that need to be addressed.

This is National Nursing Week.

Coffey says violence is something health care workers are continuing to face, and it’s having an impact on staff, patients and the system.

“Only last week we had another emergency department that was put out of commission for over 18 hours because of a violent incident. Our members didn’t get physically hurt, but the psychological trauma from that incident is going to linger for a long time.”

Coffey says the destruction in the triage area was significant.

“A patient became violent” says Coffey, “there was printers, there was phones, there was tables, everything, flying. We had staff running for their own safety, having to move patients out of the way, and waiting for security (and the RNC) to respond.”