Wollongong Hospital staff will call for greater powers - and protection - for its security workers during a midday protest rally on Tuesday.
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The Health Services Union members will take the action as part of the union's 'Our Hands Are Tied' campaign, which was initiated after a spate of serious incidents in the state's public hospitals.
The Wollongong staff are also angry at the sacking this month of a health and security assistant after a violent incident with a patient within the mental health unit last December.
HSU secretary Gerard Hayes said the case highlighted the need for hospital security workers to have the legal powers and equipment to keep themselves safe - as well as other staff, patients and visitors.
"The fatal shooting of an inmate, by a Corrective Services officer, after attempting to escape from Lismore Base Hospital last Friday was the third shooting in three years at a public hospital in NSW," he said.
"There's been stabbings and countless other assaults in that time ... and we've also seen the incident at Wollongong Hospital where one of our members has lost their job while trying to protect another staff member.
"Something needs to be done, and it needs to be done as a matter of urgency."
Mr Hayes said the union was campaigning for a significant boost to security numbers across the state, as well as broader powers for those on the job.
"We're now onto the third review into hospital security by the state government since 2015 but we're not seeing any changes, despite a changing community and more complex drugs that cause aggressive and unpredictable behaviour," he said.
"We need enough security staff to be able to be proactive, rather than reactive, to prevent issues arising ... yet our call for an extra 250 security staff continues to be ignored.
"Meantime when security staff do have to respond to incidents, we want them to have the appropriate powers to protect themselves from litigation, or termination."
Mr Hayes said security staff also needed to be better equipped to deal with increasingly violent situations.
"They need some form of defensive implement - like a flick baton - to lessen the risk for themselves, and others," he said. "It needs to be something that's suitable for a hospital setting, it's not a prison or police station."
Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District chief executive Margot Mains said the health district was part of the statewide review into hospital security, which started late last year.
The Anderson Report's interim findings, including 48 recommendations, were released in February.
The report states that hospitals need security guards who understand their role is "not that of a nightclub bouncer" and don't want to be "quasi police". Instead they should have "a commitment to a customer focus while at the same time establishing their presence as a proactive deterrent".
"We will await the final report of this review and further advice before considering any recommendations," Ms Mains said.
"The safety of our patients and staff is paramount and we remain committed to ensuring the safest possible environment for everyone.
"Encouraging a culture of safety ensures the focus of our health service remains on providing the best possible care for our patients."
Meantime Ms Mains has said management would consider new evidence - in the form of additional CCTV footage - in the incident which led to the sacking of the Wollongong worker.
However she said the CCTV footage which had already been reviewed as part of the investigation showed "a clearly inappropriate response to the patient".