$7M in health-care security funds unspent despite warnings: union

Despite repeated warnings from health-care workers, Nova Scotia’s largest health employer has yet to allocate $7 million in safety funding from a 2023 agreement, an issue reignited by a recent stabbing at a Halifax hospital. 

Concerns about health-care worker safety intensified on Jan. 29 when Halifax police arrested 32-year-old Nicholas Robert Coulombe after four people, including three employees, were injured at the QEII Emergency and Trauma Centre in Halifax.

Halifax police said an armed man who was receiving treatment at the hospital stabbed two people and injured two others by throwing objects at them. 

“Across the province, our members have been saying this would happen for a long time,” Sandra Mullen, president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, said in a phone interview.

“This is clearly not a surprise to them.” 

Mullen said the union is working with Nova Scotia Health and the IWK Health Centre to increase security measures union members have long advocated for.

These improvements could include installing metal detectors, strengthening door security — potentially with police support — and providing additional safety training. Nova Scotia Health is responsible for operations at the QEII Health Sciences Centre. 

In an email statement, Nova Scotia Health said its security spending rose to more than $20 million this year, up from $12 million the previous year. 

Despite the spending increases, Mullen said $7 million in health and safety funding remains unspent. The money was allocated to Nova Scotia Health and the IWK during bargaining negotiations with the Nova Scotia Council of Nursing Unions in November 2023.

Under the agreement, the funds must be used by Oct. 31, 2025, for the improvement of the health and safety of the nursing workforce. 

The Nova Scotia Health Authority and the constituent unions have been “struggling to get something off the ground” since the deal was signed in November 2023, said Mullen.  

“We have, as unions and on behalf of the members, been advocating these big employers to improve safety for the members and patients,” said Mullen. “This incident is not a one-off. We have heard of many incidents in ERs and within hospitals.” 

Jennifer Benoit, provincial co-ordinator of the Nova Scotia Health Coalition, said the delay is likely due to ongoing discussions between Nova Scotia Health and the Nova Scotia Council of Nursing Unions’ four member unions, who must agree on how to allocate the funds. She also said the November 2024 provincial election may have caused additional delays. 

The Nova Scotia Health Coalition is a non-partisan political organization comprised of local health committees, community groups and individuals. 

“The longer we go delaying things, it’s the general population that’s suffering, whether it’s our staff, our patients or the public that could be in that waiting room,” Benoit said in a video interview.

“I read this from all different perspectives, and even people that sit in the waiting rooms are scared.” 

Nova Scotia Health said it is working with the unions to reduce violence and increase safety. 

“Our staff across the province have a right to feel safe doing their jobs, and I want them to know we are doing everything in our power to ensure they can feel safe,” Nova Scotia Health spokesman Brendan Elliott said in the emailed statement.