Qld nurses, punching bags?

To the HRM manager who sits behind his large desk, in a comfortable chair, and is never, ever, called to protect himself and/or others from violent patients - please get off your rear and DO something when I tell you I am unsafe at work . . . and why am I unsafe? Because a Registered Nurse in my work place (psychiatric unit), was immediately suspended (no nurse manager spoke to them first), after it was alleged they assaulted a patient in the process of restraining a large, habitually violent and aggressive male who had thumped them (and others), several times. Not only that, nearly 7 weeks later, this nurse has yet to receive a single signed/dated witness statement. So, what's the predictable result? Virtually all of the nurses in my work place have lost confidence in handling violent patients, for fear they will be treated/accused in the same way. Nobody is willing (currently), to use approved restraint techniques, or even rest a finger on a patient, because they could be next.

But guess what? My HRM department is REFUSING to conduct an independent and confidential staff survey on this matter, one that will ask what management needs to do (and what management needs to put in place), in order to restore confidence - and then act on the published results.

And a further reason for such an independent and confidential survey? To protect staff from management retribution, and I write as nurse who has recently been threatened with the Code of Conduct (and harassed/bullied), in the same work place, for voicing legitimate safety concerns.

And if anyone (patient or staff), gets seriously injured while this impasse continues, Queensland Health will be very publicly in the dock (yet again) . . .