S.F. healthcare workers say safety issues continue at city's clinics

"But as the city's Department of Public Health follows Mayor Daniel Lurie's directions to make cuts, they wanted to make one thing clear: safety in the city's medical facilities requires more than just the presence of security personnel. It requires widespread training in de-escalation, working with patients with complex needs, and crisis response, they said. These programs are on the chopping block."

"The Department of Public Health has proposed cutting $17 million from contracts with community groups. To avoid direct clinic cuts, the biggest portion of those cuts, $6 million, is likely to come from staff training programs. That is a mistake, practitioners said. More and better security training is exactly what healthcare workers said they need. Already, health workers at clinics and community centers say they've been asked to do more with less for the past year. Several reported feeling unsafe for the first time in over 10 years of working for the city."

Two months after a lethal stabbing at a city clinic, seasoned healthcare workers report persistent safety problems at many clinics. Many staff spoke anonymously citing fear of job loss. The Department of Public Health plans $17 million in cuts to community group contracts, with roughly $6 million likely to be taken from staff training programs. Practitioners say security requires more than guards and depends on widespread de-escalation, complex-needs and crisis-response training. Clinic staff report being asked to do more with less, frequent weapon confiscations, and some feel unsafe for the first time in over a decade.

Read at Mission Local