Unions at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université Laval (CHUL) in Quebec City, Canada, say psychiatric emergency department staff have been exposed to violence from patients for almost two years, since a specialized security position was eliminated in November 2024. CSN-affiliated unions said so at a press conference on 23 October 2026, according to Canadian Occupational Safety (thesafetymag.com).
What are the unions saying?
The unions point to at least two recent incidents. According to Julie Tremblay, vice-president for occupational health and safety at a regional CSN health union, an employee injured on 17 August still suffers psychological and physical consequences. She said the incident “triggered alarm bells that cannot be ignored.” Two weeks before the press conference, a psychiatric patient allegedly struck a hospital orderly, according to union representative Frédéric Saint-Hilaire of the Syndicat des travailleuses et travailleurs du CHU de Québec. Nurse Patsy Van Damme told broadcaster Noovo Info that she was attacked during an intervention and that staff depend on panic buttons that only work intermittently: “I’ve never seen anyone check those buttons.” Xavier Isabelle, president of the SPTSSS-CSN union, links the risks to what he describes as an excessive focus on financial performance in healthcare. Guillaume Clavette of health federation FSSS-CSN says talks with the hospital have stalled and calls for the authorities to “wake the government up, wake Santé Québec up.” The unions are demanding the return of specialized security staff and better incident reporting.
What is the hospital’s response?
CHU de Québec-Université Laval and the regional health authority Santé Québec Capitale-Nationale say in a joint statement that a joint risk analysis is underway. They point to portable panic buttons, cameras and tightened protocols already in place. According to the institution, security staff are not assigned to specific units but make regular rounds throughout the hospital. A provincial safety report on the unit is also forthcoming.
Violence in Quebec’s healthcare sector
Figures from Quebec’s workplace safety authority CNESST for 2024, cited in the source article, show that work-related violence hits the province’s healthcare sector hard: of the 5,395 recognized injuries from violence at work, 47.4% occurred in the health and social services sector, and in 40.2% of all cases the violence came from patients or residents of care facilities. The number of violence-related injuries in the province has risen 79.4% since 2020. Since October 2021, article 51 of Quebec’s occupational health and safety act has required employers to take measures against physical and psychological violence in the workplace.
Context
Violence against healthcare workers is not a specifically Canadian or Quebec problem. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 8% and 38% of healthcare workers worldwide experience physical violence at some point in their careers, with nurses, other direct patient-care staff, emergency department workers and ambulance personnel at greatest risk. According to the WHO, patients and visitors are typically the perpetrators.
The debate in Quebec City touches on a question HSE professionals in healthcare facilities worldwide face: how security, alarm systems and incident reporting are organized in emergency and psychiatric units, and how employers and staff representatives assess the resulting risks.
Source: Quebec City hospital unions say security cut exposes psychiatric ER workers to violence, 26 October 2026
Additional research: WHO – Preventing violence against health workers
