Could AI weapons-detection equipment be piloted at some Fraser Health hospitals?

CTV News has learned that Fraser Health is considering a number of strategies, including AI weapons detection, to prevent violence in its facilities.

Fraser Health is considering a number of strategies, including AI weapons detection, as part of a pilot project aimed at preventing violence in its hospitals and facilities, CTV News has learned.

“While not all violent incidents in our facilities involve weapons, some have unfortunately included the use of bladed, blunt, or improvised objects,” Fraser Health wrote in an email to CTV News.

The health authority said it has been looking at a variety of means to improve safety for staff.

“As with any new strategy or technology, we must consider what is best for our people and the people we serve, with attention to safety, efficacy, privacy, ethics, impact and cost,” the email said.

“We are currently weighing which strategies we may implement as a pilot project which will include a detailed evaluation to assess its impact and fit within Fraser Health.”

The push for safer sites comes as the BC Nurses’ Union calls on government to do more to protect workers.

“I actually wrote the health minister a couple months back, asking for her to consider AI-assisted weapons detection, and also let her know that the nurses bargaining association was in a position to actually provide funding for a pilot,” said BCNU president Adriane Gear.

The union declined to say which health authority it was speaking with regarding its pilot project, but indicated it would like to see a trial in several hospitals.

“It’s maybe not necessary in all health-care settings, but I think where we’re seeing…high levels of weapons coming in, high levels of violence, it makes sense,” she said.

Earlier this month, RCMP were called to Alouette Homes, a mental Health facility in Maple Ridge, after reports of a nurse being assaulted by a patient.

A few days before that, police in New Westminster tasered a man who allegedly threatened workers at Royal Columbian Hospital with an “edged weapon.”

Some health authorities in other Canadian provinces are already using AI weapons detection.

London Health Sciences Centre in Ontario has the equipment in two of its hospitals.

“We’re getting now approximately four items a day (at each hospital) and they’re primarily knives. We have not had guns come through,” said supervisor David Musyj with LHSC.

“Hospitals are stressful enough. The last thing people should have to worry about, and staff, is being harmed,” Musyj explained.

He said the technology doesn’t require anyone to empty their pockets or take out their cellphones in order to enter. But if the screeners detect something, “You go to another area. You’re asked for a search. There’s no delay,” he explained, adding that it’s part of multiple layers of security.

He said if a legal knife is found, it is held until the person leaves the hospital. If an illegal weapon is discovered, police are called.

The machines are leased for under $8,000 a month.

In Winnipeg, weapons detectors were installed last February at the Health Science Centre’s Adult Emergency Department, the Children’s Emergency Department, and the Crisis Response Centre.

“Since their installment, they have detected 1,623 items including knives, tools, and sharp or blunt objects, among others,” wrote a spokesperson with Shared Health.

“This has led to increased use of amnesty lockers where visitors can store their legal items during their visit and retrieve them when they leave,” the email read.

The spokesperson said weapon detectors are only one of the initiatives underway at HSC to improve safety.

“Security staff with weapon detection wands are also now present at a number of locations across HSC campus, along with additional security,” Shared Health wrote.

Meanwhile, in B.C., the BCNU met with MLAs from all parties in Victoria Thursday to discuss violence in health care.

The event marks the launch of the union’s new “Violence. Still Not Part of the Job” campaign.

The union wants minimum nurse-to-patient ratios to mitigate violence risks linked to inadequate staffing levels.

BCNU is also asking for more specially trained “Relational Security” officers.

“There’s still many facilities in British Columbia that don’t have any provision of security. We would also like to see hospital police considered in some settings,” Gear said.

The union has also called for fully functional panic buttons, mobile alerts, surveillance and police at some facilities.

Fraser Heath said it has been using panic buttons across its sites for many years, including fixed position panic buttons and portable panic buttons.

The health authority said it is working with provincial partners on implementing improvements to “foster a culture of safety, respect and support in all care settings.”

Fraser Health did not provide a timeline for when a pilot project might begin.