An employee of the Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department was assaulted by gang members overnight, police have confirmed. 

A police spokesperson told the Herald that about 8.15 pm, they received a report that a small group of gang members or associates had an altercation in the hospital’s ED waiting room and that one person had been assaulted. 

“It appears one person was taken into custody,” a spokesperson said. 

It’s understood the worker was a Christchurch Emergency Department security guard. 

Te Whatu Ora Canterbury referred all Herald inquiries to police. 

It comes as the Government announced hospitals in our biggest cities and holiday hotspots would get an extra 200 security staff for the summer months to counter the increasing “unacceptable” violence in emergency departments. 

Just before Christmas, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced a $5.7 million boost to employ additional security staff in 32 hospitals across New Zealand through late February. 

Eight of New Zealand’s highest-risk emergency departments – in the four Auckland hospitals, along with Waikato, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin – each received an additional five security staff until the end of February. 

A further 24 emergency departments near summer hotspots received between two and five additional security staff to help manage pressures over the summer holiday peak period. 

Reti earlier said the beefed-up security was to keep patients and hard-working doctors, nurses and other emergency department staff safe during a particularly busy time. 

“The safety of the health workforce and patients has to be a priority. These staff will be ready to provide around-the-clock cover and the first people are on the ground already,” Reti earlier said. 

“In 2021, HNZ reported 1179 assaults, rising to 3459 in 2022. In the first three months of 2023, 1267 assaults were reported. If this trend continues, it will have exceeded 5000 reported incidents in 2023. That’s totally unacceptable.” 

Reti said this was only a short-term fix and was working towards creating a long-term strategy early this year. Including reducing wait times, a major factor in the increased abuse towards staff.