The provincial government has nearly doubled the number of security officers based at Mills Memorial Hospital.
In addition to the 15 officers from a private company contracted by Northern Health, 13 people from a new provincial force, described as relational security officers, are now at the hospital.
The program was first announced last year in response to the growth of violent and other incidents affecting the safety of hospital workers and patients.
By way of comparison, the combined 28-person security presence at Mills equals the authorized number of general duty officers at the Terrace RCMP detachment.
“The new officers are trained to have an acute awareness of patients and their surroundings, as well as how to anticipate, de-escalate and ultimately prevent aggression,” indicates information provided by the health ministry.
Each of the officers also wears a stab vest while on duty and scheduling is such that there is a 24/7 presence.
Job qualifications included already having a security guard licence, certified advanced security training and at least one year of working experience. Their pay is $27.40 an hour.
Specifically-trained officials then provided two weeks of classroom education in violence prevention and other best practices.
Officers must also take an Indigenous cultural safety course.
While the new Mills Memorial Hospital now under construction will be much larger than the one it will replace, provincial officials are saying the 13-officer contingent won’t increase for now.
“As we evaluate the success of this new position, we may expand it and hire more people in the future,” provided information indicated.
The growth of security measures at hospitals began several decades ago.
“Since 2002, most provincial health-care protection services positions have been privately contracted and primarily provide traditional security functions,” the health ministry said.