Doctors, nursees 'regularly threatened with guns' in hospitals Medical staff are being threatened by people with guns, swords, knives, axes, cleavers and other sharp objects on a regular basis, in Perth hospitals. DOCTORS and nurses are being "regularly threatened with guns, swords, knives, axes, cleavers and other sharp objects" as violence in Perths major hospitals surges 42 per cent. The increasingly dangerous conditions in hospitals have prompted WA's peak doctor's group to call for mandatory sentencing for anyone who assaults a health professional. New figures show code blacks - where an emergency response team is activated to deal with a potentially life-threatening situation - rose from 4401 to 6246 in the past four years. Last year, an average of 17 hospital staff were physically or verbally abused every day in five of WA's biggest hospitals - compared to 12 such incidents per day in 2009. Immediate past president of the AMA, David Mountain said violence had worsened in hospitals in the past decade. Australian Medical Association WA president Richard Choong called on the Government to introduce mandatory sentencing for people who physically assaulted doctors and hospital staff. We have to get tougher on the perpetrators of violence, especially those who attack people just trying to help them. Immediate past president of the AMA, David Mountain said violence had worsened in hospitals in the past decade and recounted a recent incident where he was forced to jump on a man who pulled a gun out in the ED. "Things have got a lot worse, a lot more violent," Dr Mountain said. Restraining and sedating people was a rare event when I started in emergency more than 20 years ago. Now there are threats to safety to everyone who works in EDs. People get bitten, cut or spat at all the time. There are people with guns, swords, knives, axes, cleavers and other sharp objects on a regular basis. One time a guy came into the ED I was working in, unhappy about something that happened at another hospital and he got quite irate. He obviously needed to stay in hospital, but then he reached into his shorts and pulled out a pistol. We jumped on him and thankfully the gun didn't go off, but there's always the possibility that you can get hurt working in the ED. Health Minister Kim Hames said mandatory sentencing was not being considered to address the issue. "This is a reflection of the growing demand on emergency departments and the type of issues that are now presenting, such as drug and alcohol use," Dr Hames said. We have a appropriate security staff and systems in our hospitals to manage the situations which require it. Dr Mountain blamed the violence on increasing alcohol and drug abuse as well as deteriorating social norms. "There is a general lack of respect for any sort of authority," Dr Mountain said. There is a breakdown in civility, where people think any level of behaviour is okay, partly because of role models like celebrities who behave abysmally and they are lauded. It's up to everyone in society to set limits about what's acceptable, and that includes standards amongst supposed role models and opinion leaders. There are politicians who think swearing is ok on national TV, people behaving abysmally in public office and sports people behaving abysmally off the field - all those things give people the suggestion that that behaviour is ok. Many (violent patients) are on alcohol plus or minus drugs and it gets really out of control, amphetamines in particular. In the past five to 10 years I've noticed a major increase in the sheer numbers and the intensity of the obnoxious and out-of-control behaviour. People who get drunk and high on drugs know the side effects and that they get themselves into bad situation. Mandatory sentencing would let people know that there will be serious repercussions for their behaviour. Carolyn Smith, assistant secretary of United Voice, which represents nurses and orderlies, said the Government was sticking its head in the sand by failing to address the issue. There's no easy answer but what's happening is that people are just pretending that nothing is getting worse and keep doing the same old thing. The lack of action is concerning. A Health Department spokesman said security services cost about $15 million last financial year and had recently been streamlined.