‘This man comes out of the room waving a machete at my coworkers uttering threats to kill us,’ says Victoria Treacy, who believes better security is needed
Everything was normal on Tuesday night in the emergency department at Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody.
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Until it wasn’t.
Victoria Treacy, a registered nurse, started her shift at 7:30 p.m., decked out in her usual cheery uniform: scrubs, with a pink fluffy vest, and pink running shoes.
Sixty minutes later, she would be terrorized by a machete-wielding patient.
“It was a busy night, as usual. A full waiting room,” said Treacy.
Long waiting times are the norm at Eagle Ridge. Although ambulances with extreme trauma patients go to Royal Columbian or Surrey Memorial hospital, exploding development, a nearby SkyTrain station and population growth have put pressure on the small community hospital’s 24-hour emergency room.
Anyone who shows up — from “walkies and talkies” with broken bones, abdominal pains or headaches, to adults with complex mental health and addiction issues — is received and triaged.
What staff can’t do is check for weapons.
Treacy had only been on shift for an hour. She was sitting in the hallway at her wheelie cart — the ones nurses use now, since nurse’s stations that provided a barrier between patients and staff have mostly been eliminated.
“We have to sit with our backs turned,” said Treacy. “We aren’t protected by anything.”
She was aware of a disgruntled patient just down the hall who had been placed in a bed and seen by a physician. A bad mood is not unusual.
“When a patient waits close to five hours, they get disgruntled,” said Treacy.
Suddenly she heard yelling.
In a split second, she saw everything at once: three metres from her, two coworkers in a freeze frame in front of a room. The door swung open.
“This man comes out of the room waving a machete at my coworkers uttering threats to kill us.”
One nurse fled down a corridor. Another locked herself in a treatment room.
Treacy picked up the phone to dial security but panicked, hung up, then sprang into action.
“We have to get out. I don’t know what he is going to do, but the intent is to harm us.”
They had to get the patients out, too. Everyone was at risk.
Treacy started yelling for people to get out. Others cleared treatment, triage and waiting rooms while the man swung the machete around wildly.
“People were terrified,” said Treacy.
In the chaos, she heard a “code white” being called over the PA.
“Code white means everyone in the hospital has to come to help us,” said Treacy.
Her panic increased: anyone who came from another floor was in danger.
The call over the PA was quickly changed to “code silver,” which means don’t come.
Treacy called 911. “I had no idea where security was,” said Treacy.
Once the emergency room was cleared, she saw the man “sauntering out.”
Minutes later he was apprehended in what Port Moody police described as a “high-risk” arrest.
“Shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 14, we received multiple reports of a man brandishing and waving a large knife described as a machete at Eagle Ridge Hospital,” said Port Moody community relations officer Const. Sam Zacharias.
“Because there was a clear mental health component, we apprehended him under section 28 of the mental health act. He was taken to another hospital,” said Zacharias.
Zacharias said Port Moody police will be recommending criminal charges.
Zacharias said police frequently get called to Eagle Ridge hospital to defuse situations and assist staff.
The emergency room at Eagle Ridge hospital is staffed by Paladin Security. “They are only allowed to enforce anything with our direction and usually by that point it is too late,” said Treacy.
Tristan Newby, vice-president of the B.C. Nurses Union, said, “We are seeing these violent incidents on the rise throughout the province, and they are having a disproportionate impact on community hospitals.”
The union is calling for an expansion of the relational security officer program to include community hospitals like Eagle Ridge, and improvements to health and safety.
This isn’t the first major violent incident at Eagle Ridge hospital.
Fraser Health commended medical staff and security staff for their “prompt and professional” response.
“All Fraser Health contracted security staff possess the same legal authority and capabilities as our in-house security teams…. Training for all security staff, whether contracted or in-house, includes completion of the provincial violence prevention curriculum and advanced team response training before deployment. This ensures that all security personnel are specifically trained to manage violent or disruptive situations, including those involving patients or visitors, in a way that prioritizes safety and de-escalation.”
Treacy believes better security is needed for patients and staff, and said the incident has left her shaken.
She is seeking counselling and her family is deeply concerned for her safety.
“I’m 5-foot-5. I have no way to protect myself. I don’t want to get killed. The next step is someone getting murdered in their workplace.”