Hospital security under scrutiny after 2 health-care workers stabbed at Halifax ER

A day after two health-care workers were stabbed in the emergency department of a Halifax hospital, the head of the province's largest union said her members have been sounding the alarm about unsafe conditions for a long time. 

"We did a report in 2023, where we had met with our emergency room department folks … and we formalized, you know, some recommendations, but security was No. 1," NSGEU president Sandra Mullen said in an interview with CBC News on Thursday.

Nicholas Robert Coulombe, 32, has been charged with nine offences, including attempted murder and aggravated assault, after a patient stabbed two people and injured another on Wednesday in the emergency department of the Halifax Infirmary.

Mullen said the NSGEU recommendations for tackling the "emergency department crisis" included providing wearable panic devices for workers, more support staff for waiting rooms, ensuring there are properly trained security and safety measures for these areas, and a separate waiting area for people visiting the ER with mental health issues. 

Following Wednesday's attack, she said she wants to see metal detectors installed in the emergency department and further security measures taken to keep health-care workers safe.

Mullen said long wait times in emergency departments can lead to behaviour from patients that can make workers and other patients feel unsafe.

She'd also like to see Nova Scotia Health explore the option of stationing police officers at the hospital.

"It's on the employer to ensure the safety of the employees," Mullen said. "Workers do not go to work to be injured." 

Two union members were injured in the attack but are in stable condition, she said. 

Nova Scotia Health considering metal detectors, police presence

Karen Oldfield, the interim CEO of the health authority, said adding portable metal detectors to the emergency department and stationing police officers on site are both on the table following the attack.

"The last thing we want to do is have a lineup out the door of people waiting to get through a metal detector," she said. "So we're going to find something that works for a high-intensity, fast-moving emergency department that … helps us in our quest to provide a safe and secure workplace."

She said immediate action was taken following the incident to increase security at the emergency department.

Oldfield said she didn't recall the 2023 report from the NSGEU that Mullen cited, but "as a general principle … safety and security is pretty much always top of mind." 

She said the budget for security this year in Nova Scotia hospitals is $20 million, up from $12 million in 2024. 

In addition to the police investigation, Oldfield said four others have been launched since Wednesday's incident — one by Nova Scotia Health's security team, another by Occupational Health and Safety, a quality improvement review from clinicians, and an internal review by Paladin Security, the security firm contracted by Nova Scotia Health.

"We'll receive reports, the facts, recommendations … from each, which we will then take and implement as quickly as we can," she said. 

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