Melissa McGillivray, a nurse from Saskatoon, says she sees staff being threatened at work too often.
St. Paul's Church Hospital A nurse who has worked in the industry for more than a decade says it is the worst she has ever seen, with workers facing incidents such as shouting, verbal threats, aggression and physical violence on a daily basis.
McGillivray is speaking out after a man walked into the hospital's emergency department on November 27 with a sawed-off shotgun and several knives.
The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) is calling on the provincial government to take additional safety measures following the incident, suggesting the use of metal detectors.
The hospital nurse says incidents like these are causing her colleagues to reconsider their future in healthcare, with many deciding to leave or move.
“I have a colleague who is going on leave because of this latest development,” MacGillivray said, adding that it's especially troubling given the challenges of maintaining health care in the province.
Receive daily national news
Get the day's top news, political, economic and current affairs headlines delivered to your inbox once a day.
“You know, we have people crying every single day at work, and that’s not right.”
MacGillivray says St. Paul's Hospital isn't the only hospital in Saskatoon seeing an uptick in violence, but rather the city and Royal University Hospitals are also seeing changes.
The nurse notes that violence against health care workers extends beyond the health care sector.
“I just got in touch with someone who works in the community this morning and they told me about a health worker in the Market Mall being stabbed two weeks ago. So it's not even unique to hospitals,” she said.
“We can't keep going like this. I'm here today to say enough is enough.”“
On Monday, MacGillivray joined the provincial NDP in calling on the government to work with health-care workers to address safety concerns.
“We need to see an immediate escalation of all existing health and safety protocols,” said Nathaniel Teed, Saskatchewan union critic.
Teed also said the province promised St. Paul Hospital a metal detector, but it was later moved to another facility due to a lack of security staff to operate it.
In a statement to Global News, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) confirmed it is seeing an increase in violent incidents and “guns entering emergency departments and hospitals,” adding that it remains “committed to strengthening the safety of our institutions.”
The health authority added that it is involved in several initiatives to improve safety, including assessing risks for customers and piloting the use of artificial intelligence weapon detection technology at Queen's University Hospital.
The province has not specified whether St. Paul's Hospital will receive this artificial intelligence technology or provide the facility with metal detectors.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
