AN employee at Muckamore Abbey Hospital has warned that staff morale is on the floor amid fears workers could be seriously injured due to workforce shortages.
The staff member, who does not want to be identified, described working conditions at the hospital as “horrendous” and said the PSNI is regularly called to deal with violent patients.
The Co Antrim facility, which cares for adults with severe learning disabilities, has been at the centre of controversy over ill-treatment of patients.
The PSNI has launched an investigation and so far six members of staff have been arrested.
Since the investigation began 40 staff members - mainly health care assistants and nurses - have been suspended by the Belfast trust.
The worried staff member who spoke to the Irish News claimed working conditions at the hospital are “very unsafe and dangerous”.
The worker said some patients' conditions left them violent and that staff were fearful.
“We are talking broken bones, whiplash (injuries to) shoulders, neck, back legs and arms," the hospital worker said.
“You are not talking a wee slap in the face or a wee pull of the hair.”
The worried worker said that response times to potentially serious incidents have been impacted by the shortage of staff on the wards.
“You need a good response time, which you don’t have, because everybody is suspended or leaving,” it was claimed.
“If there was a good response time we would not be lifting the phone to ring the police."
The staffer said that “everybody is at breaking point” and that staff morale is “very low”.
“People are only there because they need their pay at the end of the month. Everybody is trying to get out and get something somewhere else.”
The hospital worker said that the PSNI is regularly called to the facility to deal with violent patients.
It is understood that since June last year police have been contacted in relation to Muckamore on more than 130 occasions.
It is believed these calls have related to a range of incidents including criminal damage, rowdy/nuisance behaviour, burglary, theft, missing person reports and assault.
When asked how many times police have been called to Muckamore in the last eight months and if police have attended to deal with violent patients, a spokeswoman said a Freedom of Information Request would be required.
A spokesman for the Belfast trust said it is “committed to ensuring all patients are cared for safely” and paid tribute to staff.
He said nurse staff levels are “are monitored on a daily basis to cover patient need.
“Staff are trained in the care of patients with challenging behaviour and occasionally staff sustain injuries in the course of carrying out duties,” he said.
“The senior team takes all concerns about safety seriously and will speak to staff about any concerns that they have.”
