Tewksbury State Hospital workers have requested an emergency meeting with state leaders after a second assault occurred since the state banned staff from carrying defensive weapons.
On Thursday, Tewksbury police were called to the hospital to respond to a report of a patient that was “out of control and breaking windows.” That occurred less than a week after another patient was charged with assault and battery after attacking a hospital staffer.
Earlier this month, the hospital banned the use by staffers of pepper gel, batons and handcuffs.
Workers from two unions — the Massachusetts Nurses Association and health care workers in SEIU 509 — demand to meet with heads of the Department of Public Health and the Department of Mental Health to address safety concerns.
Jean Calvert McClure, a clinical social worker and DMH president of SEIU local 509, said that “Tewksbury is not new. This is something that we have been raising the alarm bells on for years.”
“You know, folks can’t engage in meaningful recovery if the environment that they’re being treated in is not safe. And ... forensic patients need mental health services. They have very complex needs,” she said.
Forensic patients are those involved in criminal cases that also require mental health treatment.
Police say the patient involved in the incident was an adult female who barricaded herself in the bathroom of her room and threw a trash barrel at the door, which caused part of the glass in the door to shatter. The patient was arrested and charged with damaging property.
According to the MNA, 70% of the population at Tewksbury are forensic patients who have been mixed with adult patients with complex chronic medical and behavioral needs at the 370-bed state facility.
A state spokesperson disputed that number, saying the number of patients referred through the courts at Tewksbury is between 20% and 23%.
“There is an epic epidemic of violence at this facility, which is caused by the state’s failure to manage our forensic population,” said Ryan Wilkins, a registered nurse and co-chair of unit 7 at Tewksbury Hospital.
Calvert McClure said having the patients intermingled is difficult and potentially dangerous for everyone.
“The client surveys, they’ve told us that they don’t attend groups because they’re scared. They know that the staff can’t protect themselves and they don’t feel safe. So how is somebody supposed to engage in any meaningful recovery and get better if they don’t feel safe to do so? ”
A spokesperson with the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services said, “the safety of patients, staff and the Tewksbury community is our top priority.”
“We appreciate our partnership and ongoing discussions with town officials, Tewksbury State Hospital leaders, and unions to make sure staff have an appropriate range of tools available to keep themselves and others safe.”
A state spokesperson said that pepper gel has been deployed only twice at Tewksbury State Hospital in the last 10 years.
Among all state hospitals overseen by both DPH and DMH, Tewksbury is the only facility where the security policy until recently included use of pepper gel or other defensive weapons.
EOHHS said discussion and meetings are ongoing with hospital leaders and security team with Tewksbury police and fire leadership, Select Board members and other local leaders on security protocols.
Wilkins said the crisis goes beyond the new policy banning defensive tools that was put in place.
“This has become an emergency situation, and until the state listens to frontline staff, none of this will be addressed correctly,” he said.
