Drug, alcohol violence surge at Albany Hospital
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Updated
The WA Country Health Service says there has been an increasing level of violence towards staff at the Albany Hospital from drug- or alcohol-affected patients.
New statistics have revealed there were 300 drug or alcohol-related admissions in Albany last year alone.
The Great Southern District director, Robert Pulsford, says procedures are in place to deal with aggressive patients and the emergency department is fitted with protective screens and duress alarms to protect staff.
Mr Pulsford says while alcohol abuse remains the biggest problem, police have noticed the emergence of a hard-drug culture in Albany.
"Across Australia there's been a trend of emergency departments reporting an increase in patients being violent and generally disagreeable directly related to alcohol and drug consumption," he said.
