TORONTO - An Ontario nurses group has issued a series of recommendations aimed at reducing violence in the workplace.
The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario says governments should enact and enforce legislation that promotes a violence-free workplace.
It says the legislation should include mandatory reporting and whistle-blower protection for those who report such incidents.
The association also says workplaces need a prevention policy and all organizations should make eliminating violence a strategic priority.
Margaret Keatings, the chief nurse at The Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto, says violence must not be tolerated and should be prevented from occurring.
She says nurses and all health professionals need to recognize risks early and know how to respond swiftly to prevent re-occurrences.
The issue of workplace violence involving nurses came to the forefront in 2005 when Windsor, Ont., nurse Lori Dupont was murdered while on duty by her former boyfriend, an anaesthesiologist at the same hospital.
