Allied Security’s Christchurch Hospital team – swelled by recently announced government ED security funding boost – quell gang fight ahead of police response.
Te Whatu Ora Waitaha told Radio NZ on 26 January that new, additional security guards in Christchurch Hospital’s Emergency Department helped to swiftly contain a gang fight in the hospital’s waiting room.
According to RNZ, Police received a report at around 8.15pm on 24 January that four Mongrel Mob gang members or associates had an altercation in the waiting room. This resulted in one person being assaulted and another arrested.
“No patients or staff were in danger, and the response by our security team was immediate and commendable,” Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Health Canterbury’s interim group director of operations Jo Gibbs told RNZ.
According to Gibbs, the first guard on the scene “was only metres away” when the fight broke out. It took five on-site guards to bring it under control before police arrived, she said.
“The quick actions of the security team, bolstered by the new additional guards in ED meant that the incident was swiftly contained in a matter of minutes,” she said.
Employer of the Security Officers, Allied Security, took to LinkedIn to praise the action of their security team.
View this article in the New Zealand Security Magazine February-March 2024 downloadable digital edition…
“We want to acknowledge the quick thinking and bravery demonstrated by our security officers on duty at Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury Emergency Department last week. Their immediate response to deescalate the situation resulted in no patients or staff being in danger.
“Within minutes our team had contained the incident before police arrived. Their swift action speaks volumes about their commitment to safeguarding the hospital environment.
“In alignment with the New Zealand National Party’s initiative to enhance security in emergency departments, a heightened security presence has been implemented across DHBs nationwide. This represents a collective effort to reinforce the safety and well-being of all individuals within healthcare settings.”
Just one week prior to the incident, Stuff reported that Christchurch Hospital staff were left “traumatised”, feeling “abandoned” and needing counselling after alleged threats by Mongrel Mob members when they visited a fellow gang member who was being treated at the hospital.
Mob members converged on the hospital while their friend was in ICU, allegedly blocking off public car parks and even “guarding” entrances. A hospital worker told Stuff that gang members had “inferred that the individual was receiving poor care and that they would be better off taking care of the patient.
“Most people join the health service out of a desire to give back to the rest of the world,” stated the hospital worker, “and to think that people are working in this type of environment is frightening to say the least.”
