Editor,

I am writing this before the verdict of the trial is announced in which Dr. Linda Gipson is being accused of fourth-degree misdemeanor assault from an incident in 2014 involving a mentally ill patient at Whidbey General.

I have spent some part of each day observing the trial proceedings and it strikes me that what should be on trial instead is the completely abysmal state of mental health care in our state and the lack of appropriate resources to care for the mentally ill who need inpatient hospital care. The staff caring for the patient that day (with the exception of Dr. Gipson) were woefully under-prepared to deal with the volatile situation at hand because this type of patient has no business staying in a rural, low-acuity community medical surgical unit.

Because of the lack of funded, skilled inpatient psychiatric beds, well-meaning health care staff are unnecessarily being placed at risk by patients who are mentally unstable and frequently violent and/or abusive. There has been a steady increase in just such patients needing hospital care, while there are fewer places where they can be appropriately cared for by staff with the requisite specialized training and experience.

Then there is the issue of the steady rise of violence against health care workers. In a recent study published in the Emergency Journal of Nursing more than 700 hospital nurses were surveyed and 76 percent reported experiencing some type of abuse from patients, families or visitors over the past year. Some health care workers have historically been hesitant to report assaults and abuse they experience on the job. This problem has been further compounded in our community when law enforcement and the judicial system may not respond effectively when staff do report it. That must change.

It saddens me to think of the cost of this incident on those involved and I strongly believe it should have never come to this, on many levels. At the very least, we should continue to raise awareness surrounding these issues.

TRISH L. NILSEN, RN

Langley