Charges laid in alleged assault on Kamloops nurses

KAMLOOPS – A patient has been charged for allegedly assaulting three nurses at Hillside Psychiatric Centre last summer.

Court documents show Paul Russell Baldwin, born 1986, was charged last month with one count of assault against three women on Aug. 10, 2017.

Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jodi Shelkie confirms that Baldwin is the accused in the file.

Shelkie couldn't confirm when police forwarded a report to Crown counsel, but documents show charges were approved against Baldwin on Dec. 8.

No details of the alleged incident at Hillside have been made public, but Baldwin is expected to appear in Kamloops Provincial Court in March for an arraignment hearing.

Acting President for the B.C. Nurses' Union, Christine Sorensen, says although she can't comment on particular incidents, violence is an unfortunately common part of the job for nurses.

"Violence is never acceptable in any form, yet we know it occurs in many workplaces, particularly those places where people are under significant physical or mental stress," Sorensen says. 

She says historically, nurses have reported a high number of violent incidents at Hillside Centre, which is classified as a tertiary psychiatric facility. It means the patients that stay there often face very complex mental illnesses and require in-patient treatment, close monitoring and support.

Violent incidents can range from yelling to a physical assault, and everything in between, Sorensen says. 

There is work being done on violence prevention for nurses, and Sorensen calls Hillside Centre a "moderate" success when it comes to mitigating those risks.

In 2015, the B.C. Nurses' Union and the Ministry of Health identified four sites of concern in the province, including Hillside, Sorensen says.

"There were a number of changes, not only to the physical structure of the site, but we looked at staffing, we looked at policies and procedures and things that were taking place to minimize risks to both nurses and patients at this site," Sorensen says. "The nurses report to us a significant number of changes that were put in place. We really don't see the same number of complaints or concerns coming from our nurses."

Although there have been moderate successes within the facility, Sorensen says violence prevention for nurses will always be a factor.

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