A nurse bitten by a patient who had been committed under the Mental Health Act told a Provincial Court judge in a written impact statement that the injury led her to find another position and focus on her own well-being.
The letter was submitted for the March 16 hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty to assault.
The victim said violence against healthcare workers happens too often but must be recognized and treated seriously. She had wanted to be an emergency room nurse since childhood, but felt guilty leaving patients and colleagues behind after the toll of abuse.
“Everyone in our community deserves to have access to safe emergency services in their time of need,” the nurse wrote.
The patient, 36, pleaded guilty to the May 24, 2023, assault at University Hospital of Northern BC.
Judge Martin Nadon agreed to the defence proposal for a conditional discharge. The woman had no prior criminal record and will not have one if she successfully completes the 12-month probation order.
“I do want to make this comment,” Nadon said. “I do not think that the Crown’s suggestion of 18 months is inappropriate, but I am taking into account the time of the offence and today's date, and the efforts that have been made between that time.”
Problems began, Nadon said, when the woman was placed on a bed and kept in a hallway. She eventually needed to be restrained and held down by several people, but reacted by biting the nurse on the wrist. The nurse’s skin was not broken, but she suffered a bruise and a raised welt.
Nadon said the victim did a very good job of outlining the difficulties faced daily by emergency room staff and how it affects the delivery of emergency healthcare.
“I gotta say that an assault on emergency room personnel, in this case, a nurse, is a serious matter, and unfortunately, too often, it adds burden to a system that's already straining under the weights of many other factors,” Nadon said. “Including overcrowded emergency rooms and communities struggling with out-of-control drug use and its consequences, those consequences often find their way into emergency rooms.”
The Crown position was that a conditional discharge was not appropriate because it did not emphasize denunciation and deterrence. Defence argued the woman had no criminal record and has continued to seek treatment without further trouble.
“[She] has not only done what she was supposed to do, but has also been proactive in looking after those things that led to this event,” Nadon said.
Nadon said the case met the test for a discharge because it is in the best interest of the offender and not contrary to the public interest.
