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Gang regalia banned at Waikato Hospital
Gang regalia banned at Waikato Hospital
A report in one media outlet today wrongly suggested a Waikato Hospital ban on gang regalia came about because of an incident in the hospital's emergency department earlier this month.
In fact, security staff successfully started challenging gang members individually at Waikato Hospital more than four months ago.
A recent influx of gang members from Black Power and Mongrel Mob gangs, following a stabbing incident in Gisborne in December, gave security the opportunity to roll out a campus wide ban when there were large numbers of patched members onsite visiting fellow gang members in the hospital.
One of the earliest issues identified by Mr Ria, when he started with the DHB in October 2009, was the lack of respect shown to staff and other patients.
Gang members wearing their regalia and patches often intimidated and scared people in the hospital, he said.
“This is about promoting a caring environment for staff, patients and visitors.
“What we do is we explain to gang members that while we acknowledge their patches are important to them, they do engender fear, concern and intimidation amongst other patients/visitors and staff. We ask them politely to remove their patch or turn their jacket inside out.
“We do this in a genuine and respectful fashion and the vast majority willingly comply, even those that have not agreed still comply.
“We are not the police, nor are we judging people. We are just providing an environment that promotes patient care,” he said.
Three independent reports into security and observations of where hospital security is trending in Australia, the UK and US helped Mr Ria fine-tune Waikato DHB’s security requirements.
“Waikato DHB management are committed to supporting security enhancements to patient care and safety by increasing the quality of security staff.”
ENDS
Waikato District Health Board
Healthy People. Excellent Care
Waikato District Health Board (DHB) employs over 6500 people and plans, funds and provides hospital and health services to more than 391,770 people in a region covering eight per cent of New Zealand.
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