The Premier has offered his support and condolences to those affected by the stabbing of an emergency department doctor.
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Jeremy Rockliff said the incident, which occurred on Easter Sunday in the North West, highlights the need to improve hospital security to ensure the safety of patients and staff across the State.
"Our thoughts are with the staff member, their family, and their friends, as well as the staff and patients at the North West Regional Hospital," he said.
"The safety of our staff and our patients is our number one priority.
"As part of any critical incident, there is a review to determine if any improvements need to be made to our response."
Mr Rockliff said it is important to recognise the strain on emergency departments nationwide and the impact this had on the incident on Sunday.
"We are seeing more people coming into our emergency department, and we are seeing more aggression and aggravation in our hospitals as well," he said.
"However, we do have to be mindful that almost every patient coming to the hospital has some form of trauma, whether that's from pain, anxiety, or worry about themselves or a loved one; we need to treat all patients with respect.
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"I have requested that the Department of Health, and indeed myself, will work with key stakeholders, including the AMA, the nurses union, and HACSU, to ensure that we have robust security systems within our hospitals, especially within our emergency departments."
Mr Rockliff said it was important to reflect on ways to improve and learn from difficult situations, such as the wounding incident.
"We'll be bringing together all these stakeholders to see what improvements we can make and what needs to be made," he said.
"Any learnings we can make from this incident that can improve and bolster security are critically important."
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