Washington state’s only children’s mental health hospital has seen a surge in assaults against staff this year.
This is according to data from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health for the beginning of 2024. The figures show that assault rates have more than doubled compared to the whole of 2023.
Last year, Lakewood’s Child Research and Treatment Center recorded 32.8 assaults per 10,000 “patient days,” which the Department of Social and Health Services defines as the total number of days spent at the center by all patients. From the start of this year through April, the state recorded 84 assaults per 10,000 patient days.
This is despite a decline in assault rates at the state’s two adult mental health hospitals, particularly Eastern State Hospital, where reported assaults on staff fell to 4.27 per 10,000 patient-days in the first three months of this year, down from 7.91 per 10,000 patient-days in 2023. At Western State Hospital, the assault rate fell slightly from 8.68 per 10,000 patient-days to 8.58 per 10,000 patient-days.
In the first three months of this year, 51 incidents of assaults against staff were reported at Western Provincial Hospital and 15 at Eastern Provincial Hospital.
Violence at adult mental health hospitals has spiked in the last year, and officials at the state’s mental health hospitals have long expressed concern about the safety of both patients and staff.
The state report did not provide data on the number of assaults that occurred at the Child Study and Treatment Center, which said the increase in reported assault injuries was due to a “small number of patients” admitted in 2023 staying at the center this year.
“One patient reported engaging in some form of aggression almost daily,” the report noted.
The report said a rise in the number of patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities may also be leading to increased assaults on staff, “significant staffing challenges”, increased overtime and difficulties retaining staff.
According to the report, the vacancy rate for psychiatric counselors is 25.2 percent and for nurses it is 23.1 percent. As of May 2024, there are 14 vacancies due to injuries.
The report highlighted numerous projects to improve safety at all three mental health hospitals, including adding more “segregation rooms,” training new staff and expanding the use of evidence-based behavioral therapy.
Tyler Hemstreet, a spokesman for the Department of Social and Health Services, said the department “continues its efforts to reduce vacancy rates across our facilities and is incorporating more verbal de-escalation training into our daily operations.”
“The safety of staff and patients at our Children’s Research and Treatment Centre and 24/7 facilities is one of our top priorities and we remain focused in this area,” Hemstreet said.
