Peel Health Campus reports acts of aggression every day, statistics reveal

Statistics show that between January 1 and April 30 2019, the hospital had 210 code blacks - almost two every day.

Code blacks are incidents or threats of violence that pose a personal risk to staff, patients or visitors within a hospital.

A Peel Health Campus spokeswoman said the facility did not stand for any acts of aggression towards its personnel.

"Peel Health Campus takes the safety of staff extremely seriously and does not tolerate violence," she said.

"[The hospital] has a responsibility to ensure the safety of staff, patients and visitors on site at all times.

"If a staff member feels unsafe, well trained security attend immediately."

In addition, Peel Health Campus also called 170 code blues (medical emergencies) and one code red (fire) in the first four months of the year.

The spokeswoman said a number of factors could be responsible for the high number of codes called, including a stronger no-tolerance message at the hospital.

"The code red was not the result of a fire but because of a faulty smoke detector, which was immediately replaced," she said.

"We have recently increased staff training, so that any time a staff member feels unsafe they call a 'code black'. The training may have attributed to the number of reports.

"Other factors may include the unpredictability of the condition of patients attending the emergency department on any one day and the increasing incidence of dementia and delirium in the community."

The spokeswoman ensured the hospital had "rigorous procedures" in place to manage all codes.

"Frontline staff are well trained in the de-escalation of aggression and violence," she said.

"PHC has an excellent relationship with the local police, who attend quickly if needed.

"The staffing is appropriate to the hospital's needs, with additional staff being called in if there are unusual peaks in activity."

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The data comes after a serious violent incident at Royal Perth Hospital on May 12.

It is alleged a 55-year-old female nurse was stabbed from behind with a makeshift weapon while interacting with a patient.

She received injuries consistent with a stab wound and remained in hospital for treatment. A 30-year-old man from Gnowangerup was subsequently arrested.

Australian Medical Association Western Australia (AMA WA) emergency medicine spokesperson Dr David Mountain said more needed to be done to combat violence against Peel's frontline health workers.

"It's happening two or three times a day in Mandurah alone, which is very concerning," he said.

"It's a dramatic increase on what was happening 15-20 or even 30 years ago when I first started in emergency. The fact that we need security guards says a lot because we didn't need them years ago, whereas it is a routine part of the job now.

"We have a very big problem particularly with methamphetamine, but it is not just that. There is also a breakdown in stability and respect for people trying to do their job trying to help people."

Mr Mountain said security of the union's members was paramount, especially inside emergency departments.

"There are definitely things that can happen like a visual presence of security 24 hours a day, especially within busy areas like emergency where the code blacks occur," he said.

"We need to reduce the amount of overcrowding that's in our emergency departments, particularly for mental health patients and people affected by substances.

"We should be setting up units in all our hospitals where if people do have to stay for a time to detox or come off the drugs that are driving their behaviour, that we've got appropriate environments for them to stay in.

"And obviously there needs to be resources in training to make sure staff can de-escalate difficult situations appropriately."