PITTSBURGH — Several health care workers were injured and one remains off the job after a violent encounter with a patient in the intensive care unit at UPMC Magee Women’s Hospital.
It is the latest incident of local health workers being attacked at work 11 Investigates has been tracking the issue for more than a year in our investigative series Code Blue. In an exclusive survey, 93 percent of PA healthcare workers surveyed said they are afraid at work.
The latest encounter, which happened the morning of June 16, left at least three nurses injured.
Channel 11 sources say a patient was hallucinating and fighting staff. A staff member hit the panic button, which alerts security that there’s an emergency. Sources say security took more than five minutes to respond to the area. UPMC disputed that, saying the response was “under two minutes.”
Sources tell 11 Investigates several health care workers were hurt while trying to restrain the patient, who was kicking, hitting, biting and trying to headbutt employees. They say the patient was able to grab and twist one nurse’s arm, who yelled for help. She suffered possible torn ligaments and is still off work. It is unclear when she can return.
Sources say the incident was not the first violent incident on that shift and that a nurse was assaulted by a different patient hours earlier.
When first asked for information about the assault last week, a spokesperson declined to confirm the incident or answer questions, only responding with the following statement.
“UPMC is steadfast in our commitment to the safety and well-being of all at our facilities. Health care has long been built on accessibility, caring, and healing. UPMC staff members are devoted to caring for others and we expect them to be treated with courtesy and respect by patients and visitors. We have been reinforcing already existing strong security measures and deploying heightened standards across UPMC to enhance the safety of everyone in our facilities. Code of conduct and disruptive behavior policies are strictly enforced to uphold the safety of our care teams, patients, visitors, and the safe operation of our facilities.”
When Channel 11 contacted UPMC again this week, a spokesperson released the following statement.
“We regret that any patient would become violent with any of our team members. Three nurses were involved in the incident, and the security response was under two minutes. We take workplace safety very seriously, care for the team members who were involved, and respect their privacy.”
The nurse’s union declined to comment on this story. In the recent past, the union has made numerous public statements about safe staffing levels, pointing to it as a solution to help protect healthcare workers and calling on the health system to invest in safe staffing standards.
It does not appear charges have been filed against the patient involved.
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