Mobilization for occupational safety

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Employers have a duty to take the necessary measures to protect us from physical or psychological violence (including domestic or family violence) in the workplace.

Fear and feeling unsafe should not be part of our working lives.

• January 26, 2026: four emergency room staff members were injured by a violent patient while attempting to assist and restrain him. A Code White was triggered too late. The police intervened and the individual was arrested, charged and found guilty of assault.
• February 9, 2026: a man physically assaulted two patients in the waiting room.
• March 23, 2026: a nurse found himself trapped in the triage room with an aggressive patient. The nurse managed to escape; a Code White was triggered and the police intervened to subdue the individual.
• April 19, 2026: less than a month later, the same patient made death threats against the nurse in the triage room, destroyed medical equipment and injured staff. A Code White was triggered, the police were called in, and the man was charged and sentenced to two years minus one day in prison.

Emergency care staff at the Hôpital régional de Rimouski have therefore stepped up their efforts to ensure that their employer respects their right to health and safety: public statements, sit-ins, filing a grievance with management, displaying a giant copy of the grievance on the emergency room doors, putting up leaflets throughout the institution, and so on.

Although the battle is not yet won, the mobilization of the Syndicat des professionnelles en soins infirmiers et cardiorespiratoires du Bas-Saint-Laurent and its members has led to some progress:

1. emergency room staff now have 15 wristbands enabling them to alert security quickly;
2. steps are being taken to create a safer triage area, a more suitable area for psychiatric stretchers and a security guard post within the emergency room waiting area.

The fight continues!