Security in ER

[TraumaLPN]

The ED that I work in has NO full time security for our department. When it comes time to wrestle with a pt., we nurses have to handle it 99% of the time while we wait for the local police to get there. This is a 14 bed ER and we see about 40,000 pts. a year. We have to rely on the hospital security, usually 2 on 3-11 and 1 on 11-7. And the majority of them are between 55-65 yrs. old with pot guts and totally out of shape. If a pt. actually wanted to take their gun from them they probley could. That's why we rarely call them to help with situations that develope. Also we have several properties that are NOT on our campus that are owned by our hospital that security has to patrol several times a shift. So you never know if they are at the hospital or across town checking on these buildings! How may of you work in ED's that have security just for the ED. Also how big are your hospitals? Our hospital just won some kind of award that listed us as a "Large community hospital with more than 250 acute care beds." That's also a crock because we have whole floors in our hospital shut down because we don't have the staff to open thes beds. Even counting the closed beds I still can't come up with 250 acute care beds! We in the ER do not feel safe or protected by our facility.

[RNLex]

we are a 13 bed ED and have two guards on 3-11 and one 11-7 same as you. They are also responsbile for the entire house. i try to have them stationed when not making rounds at our ED door since this is the only way in the hospital after 8p. I institued ED techs though which has helped - they go through a crisis intervention class and get certified which helps. we have off site property also and they patrol that once a shift on the 3-11 and not the night shift - that was a union request. you are not alone - if they are busy upstairs in behavioral health and we get something in the ED we are on our own - we rely on local PD but we all know how they love to help.