Nurses Push for Hospital Weapon Scanners

0:00It's April 9th. Welcome in. This is Calgary News Today, where local news meets AI. Nurses in Alberta are pushing hard for weapons scanners at busy city hospitals after a brutal stabbing shook up the emergency room at Edmonton's Royal. Alexander Hospital last week. A 42-year-old man got life-threatening injuries on April 3rd around 6.15 pm when two guys fought and cops already on site stepped. In, nabbing one with three edged weapons and assault charges. The province's health minister, Matt Jones, says they're speeding up weapons screening there and at another major trauma center, plus they boosted security staff. But united nurses of Alberta, President Heather Smith, fired back in a letter saying threats hit her members almost daily and they've been calling for. Detector since 2023. Smith points out other spots like Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia already have scanners, officers, or even AI detection in their ERs. A union survey last year showed four and ten nurses face physical violence, like punches

1:04in the prior 12 months, and she ties it all to packed, waiting rooms from overcrowding. She's demanding guaranteed funding for protective officers everywhere, and more hospital capacity to cut the frustration boiling over into fights. Officials note no staff or patients got hurt in this incident, but Smith stresses this violence is routine, not a one-off. Minister Jones confirmed the proposal process for scanners that Royal Alex just wrapped, and their rushing timelines to keep everyone, patients, staff, docs safe in these spots.