HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The union representing staff at Hawaii State Hospital says it is considering filing a grievance over unsafe conditions as overcrowding increases while staff resources fall.

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Nearly 390 patients were in the mental health facility this weekend, according to sources. The hospital was built for about 300 patients.

Advocates say the overcrowding means dangerous people are still on the streets.

Union reports increased assaults

Randy Perreira of the Hawaii Government Employees Association said the situation has created an unsafe environment for workers.

“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.”

Sources say there were 387 patients in the hospital this weekend, the most since new beds were added in 2021. They say there are also more staff vacancies and absences which makes it more difficult to supervise patients almost all refered from the criminal justice system.

HGEA represents nurses and professionals whose contracts guarantee a safe workplace.

“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,” Perreira said.

Attorney says staff is terrified

Civil rights attorney Eric Seitz has sued the state before on behalf of patients and to have overcrowding addressed by federal civil rights agencies.

“I’m hearing that the staff is terrified,” Seitz said.

Seitz said federal civil rights enforcement is not available under the current administration.

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“Under the current administration, that’s not possible any longer,” Seitz said. “Civil rights don’t seem to matter to Mr. Trump and his colleagues. So we have to do it ourselves.”

Union demands violence reports

One issue for lawsuits or grievances is getting details of the situation. The union has demanded reports of violence against staff.

“At this moment, things are moving pretty slow,” Perreira said. “And 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.”

In response to Hawaii News Now questions the state provided a chart — that showed a similar number of patients last summer – about 390 for three months…and says up until January of this year, assaults were trending down. The state didn’t provide more current numbers and advocates say they definitely haven’t solved the issues.

Seitz said the state now has one of the worst mental health systems in the country.

He said because there is no room at the hospital, defendants who need treatment are backing up into the jails or being released to the streets without needed treatment.

“It’s not just taking care of patients,” Seitz said. “It’s making sure that people with serious mental health problems are not roaming the streets, and that’s a real danger.”

Overcrowding is nothing new at the state hospital with inadequate treatment in the community and a revolving door of criminal defendants being sent by the courts for evaluation.

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