Nurses Demand Weapons Scanners in Alberta Hospitals

0:00Nurses in Alberta are pushing hard for weapons scanners and hospitals after a brutal stabbing at Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital. Last week on April 3rd, around 6.15pm, two men got into a fight in the emergency department. One pulled three-edge weapons, injuring a 42-year-old man with life-threatening wounds. Police were already on sight and charged the guy with assault and probation violations. The United Nurses of Alberta President Heather Smith fired off a letter to health minister Matt Jones, saying threats hit her members almost daily. She's been advocating for scanners since 2023 at busy ERs like this one. Jones says they're speeding things up with the request for proposals already closed and more security officers added. Nurses are fed up with a union survey last year showing four in 10 faced physical violence like punches in the past 12 months. Smith calls it a dangerous pattern tied to overcrowded ERs where frustrated patients snap

1:00after long waits. She wants guaranteed funding for protective officers everywhere. Other provinces are ahead. Manitoba funds cops and scanners at a Winnipeg hospital after nurses deemed it too risky. Saskatchewan's reviewing security with metal detectors and Nova Scotia wrote out AI detection in one ER. Alberta's government recognizes the fear but has a reply to Smith's letter yet. Expect more pressure as nurses rally to make hospitals save zones again. Local news powered by AI. This is Calgary News Today. I'm Corey with the story.