THE Canberra Liberals say Mental Health Minister Emma Davidson has “turned her back” on Canberra’s nurses following reports of dozens of assaults of staff by patients at a secure mental health unit.

Shadow health minister Leanne Castley said staff of the Dhulwa Mental Unit in Symonston have told her that one nurse was assaulted resulting in a fracture, a staff member was hit in the face and a doctor and security guard were attacked and needed hospital treatment.

It follows information released by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) ACT last week which said there have been more than 100 reports of assaults at the unit in a six-month period.

According to the ANMF, several staff of the centre sustained significant injuries including a broken arm, broken nose and broken fingers. One nurse described working at the facility like being “sent into the killing fields.”

“How many more nurses will be attacked at Dhulwa Mental Health Unit, before minister Davidson conducts an urgent inquiry into the violence and staff safety?” said Ms Castley.

“Canberra’s nurses deserve better. Nurses are pleading with the ACT labor-greens government to keep them safe yet the minister has turned her back on them.”

Following the reports of the assaults, WorkSafe ACT inspectors visited Dhulwa and have ordered compliance action for breach of duty under work health and safety legislation.

The ANMF ACT is also calling on the government to better protect nurses working at Dhulwa, after they first raised concerns about the operation of the facility back in 2018.

ANMF ACT branch secretary Matthew Daniel said nurses and midwives across the public health system are fed-up with the ACT government for not responding to their safety and workload concerns, “but the situation at Dhulwa represents a particularly serious example of the government’s failure to respond where there is an imminent risk of a catastrophic event.”

A Canberra Health Services (CHS) Spokesperson said the ACT government takes the safety of workers “very seriously” and CHS has been working over recent years to improve processes and training to both prevent and respond to occupational violence.

“Patients’ physical and mental health issues can fluctuate, which for some leads to unsettled presentation for a period of time,” said the spokesperson.

“At times these patients can also present safety challenges to staff and other patients.”

The spokesperson said CHS is working with WorkSafe ACT to ensure that it continues to take “every step possible to support our nurses and other staff at Dhulwa to prevent and manage occupational violence.”

“Our staff work hard to ensure there are risk assessments, behavioural management plans, treatment plans and risk mitigations in place for all patients. These are regularly updated, particularly when patients may be experiencing changes in their conditions,” they said.

Nurses report dozens of assaults at mental health unit