HGEA’s Executive Director Randy Perreira spoke out on Hawaii News Now after new concerns were raised over capacity and staffing issues at the Hawaii State Hospital.
“The census is extraordinarily high. Tensions are high, and we are getting an increased number of calls from employees,” Perreira said. “They’re reporting incidents of assault, incidents of challenges with the patients. We will pursue some kind of litigation, if necessary, to address the safety and health of the staff to make sure that the hospital takes every precaution possible.”
As HGEA tries to move forward with pursuing a grievance, one of the biggest obstacles has been obtaining accurate violence reports from the hospital. As Randy mentioned, “There’s been some comment from the hospital that they don’t keep such statistics, which we know is not true. Clearly, they keep track of folks who are assaulted.”
Hawaii now has one of the most strained mental health systems in the nation. With the hospital operating far beyond its intended capacity, defendants who require treatment are either being returned to prison or released into the community without adequate care, creating significant public safety concerns.
Read more about Randy’s interview with Hawaii News Now.