Following the recent abduction of an infant from the Sudbury Regional Hospital (HRSRH), concerns about security are paramount in the minds of Sudburians, and the hospital has taken note.
At the HRSRH Board meeting held Tuesday night, Vickie Kaminski, president and chief executive officer of the hospital, debriefed the board and members of the media on the Code Yellow, which was issued following the abduction.
“This incident has affected our community deeply,” she said. “It was an unfortunate and very distressing incident. We have looked at it as an opportunity to evaluate the procedures, policies and practices in our hospital.”
The hospital consulted with numerous hospitals across the province that compare in size and birth rates, to discuss security measures and areas of concern. The major area of concern among the hospitals was staff not being complacent with the protocols and policies of the institution.
“How do you keep staff vigilant because we know it’s that vigilance that makes the difference,” Kaminski said. “The policies, practices and measures are only as good as the people who are enacting them.”
She explained changes the hospital has made in ensuring such an incident doesn't happen again. A top policy the hospital has been enforcing rigidly, is mandatory name tags on all staff at all times.
“If a staff member has forgotten their name tag, we now are sending them home to get it and we have some processes in place that we spot check and audit that regularly,” the CEO said. “Along with being rigid with the nametag policy, we’re being much more vigilant about the policies that we had in place that we put in place for a reason.”
A new security measure the hospital will be taking, and one that is already used in about 50 percent of the consulted hospitals, is a magnetic lock system. Infants will wear a bracelet around their ankle with a magnetic chip that will trigger the locks on the maternity ward if certain policies are not complied with. For instance, if the baby goes within a certain perimeter of the door or if the bracelet is removed.
“It is the goal to have the infant bracelets implemented within the next six weeks,” Kaminiski said, adding the system was already in the plans for the new one-site hospital.
The CEO admitted the real test of complacency will be in six months to a year down the road.
“It’s easy to be vigilant a week later, the question will be whether or not we can keep it up. That will be the real challenge.”
