Hillside Psychiatric Centre nurse attacked

The B.C. Nurses' Union says a nurse was attacked by a patient at theHillside Psychiatric Centrein Kamloops on Wednesdayevening.

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The nurse has been released from hospital and is recovering at home.

The union calls it a serious attack on the female nurse, adding that it's the secondincident at the facility in four months.

"The fact that anothernursehas been hurt while trying to provide safe patient care underscores the urgent need to make worksites safer," said B.C. Nurses' Union President GayleDuteil.

B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake says he has spoken with the union and plans to meet with them and hospital staff on Friday morning.

"No one should go to work and expect that they will suffer violence in the workplace," said Lake."We are determined to reduce this type of incident."

Lake said that the Hillside Centre was identified as a high-risk facility at a summit that took place in Vancouver last week on violence prevention.

Other high-risk facilities identified were theForensic Psychiatric Unit in Port Coquitlam, theSeven Oaks Tertiary Mental Health in Victoria and theAbbotsford Regional Hospital.

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"Certain facilities, such as psychiatric facilities, experience greater challenges when it comes to workplace violence," said Lake in a written statement.

"They care for some of the most complex, and sometimes unpredictable, patients, and we need to take a close look at these facilities."

The HillsidePsychiatric Centre is a 44-bed facility at the Royal Inlands Hospital thatservesadults and elderly individuals with acute illness and/or severely dysfunctional behaviours.